It's My Prerogative
by Chelty-chan and YeahWhatever12
Summary: Naruto & Co. had been wondering what would happen when Sakura and Sasuke met again. Countless scenarios of them making up, and everything going back to the way it had been, had played in their heads, but they knew better than to expect any of that ...Sasuke's shirts may never be the same. AU SASUSAKU. Some SaiIno, NaruHina and others. Humor/Drama/Romance[WRITTEN BY YEAHWHATEVER12]
1. The Move

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. (this story is kinda boring and slow at first but it picks up)**

**YeahWhatever12: neither does I.**

* * *

"_Yup, we will see each other again." a 7 year old Sasuke promised._

"_Promise?"_

"_Promise!" he parroted, holding up a hand, while his other crossed over his heart. She giggled._

"_See you later."_

"_See you later." He replied, and then turned and ran after his mother and brother._

_He skidded to a stop and then turned back. "Oh hey, I still think big brothers are cooler than big sisters."_

"_No, no, no, big sisters are waaaay more cooler than big brothers!" a 5 year yold Sakura cried, stomping her foot for emphasis._

_He laughed and started running again, her giggle following him__**.**_

* * *

**_Got up on the wrong side, I left today yeah, crashed my car and I'm gonna be really late, my phone doesn't work cos it's out of range, looks like it's just one of those kinds of days – _Avril Lavigne, Runaway.**

* * *

X-X-X-X-X

* * *

**10 YEARS LATER, **on a balmy hot, humid day, a now 16 almost 17 year old Sakura Haruno boarded the 11 AM train.

Mostly unnoticed by the other passengers, she let out a sigh of relief as she plopped down on the last available window seat. She detested all other seats, mostly due to her hate of the feeling of being boxed in. An open window helped with that.

Settling back comfortably, she pulled her hood back, revealing cherry blossom colored hair that shone in the pre-afternoon sunlight that drifted through the window. Her head turning to the side, she watched her parents' car drive away from the station out of the corner of her eye, as she jammed her headphones onto her head, blocking out the annoying chatter of the other passengers.

Avril Lavigne's voice immediately filled her ears, just as the car turned the corner. Her face screwed up as she immediately reached to change the song. Her frown deepened when she noticed the distinct lack of anything she would want to listen to in the playlist. If this was Anna's idea of a farewell joke, she was so going to pay. Hannah Montana..? Seriously...? Why did best friends insist on being total pains in the ass?

Sighing in defeat, she scrolled back to the Avril album and let it play.

Still staring out the window, she absently started fanning herself with her diary as she waited for the train to start off. Avril wasn't that bad, she decided. The song was decent, and she could actually relate it. She picked up her iPod again to read the title.

_**Runaway**_.

Well, she wasn't running away…but she definitely wanted to.

Just grab a rucksack of things she deemed absolutely necessary. Like her diary, her toothbrush, that irreplaceable pair of Classic Converses…

As her list went on in her head, Sakura was only vaguely aware of someone sitting next to her, but she ignored them completely, in no mood for conversation. She was thankful when whoever it was made no move to disturb her.

Not that she was surprised.

Who would want to disturb a frowning pink haired girl, wearing a hoodie on a very hot summer day, black skinny jeans, flat white pumps covered with graffiti that matched the scowl she wore, head slightly bobbing along to the very loud punk-pop-rock music blaring from her earphones?

* * *

X-X-X-X-X-X-X

* * *

After what seemed like an eternity, the train finally started off, and Sakura felt a twinge of panic as the city she had lived in her whole life started to flash past her, faster with each passing second, until she couldn't stand it anymore and just turned away from the window completely, facing forward.

She soon grew tired of looking at the bald head in front of her, and so she flipped her diary open, skimming through the pages littered with her scribbled handwriting, notes and rants. When she reached the next blank page, she pulled out the pen from the binding, and after smoothing down the page, began writing.

_**Dear diary,**_

_**The train just started off, and I feel like I'm going to be sick. I know I should be celebrating right now. How long have I wanted to finally leave home?**_

_**And yet, here I am. Sulking.**_

_**What is this feeling called again?...oh yeah.**_

_**Melancholia. **_

_**Hmm…big word.**_

_**Anyway, I really didn't think leaving would bother me this much. I don't even like this place that much to begin with.**_

_**Konoha, on the other hand is a…well, it's an okay place to live I guess. I used to go down there a lot when I was kid, but I haven't been there in like years. I bet it hasn't changed at all.**_

_**Oh. My. God….I'm going to have to deal with those idiots that live down there.**_

_**I did NOT think of that. **_

_**Oh joy.**_

_**On the bright side, at least I don't have to suffer through another day at Tokyo Girls Prep. If I got another neurotic boy band song stuck in my head, I'm pretty sure I'd shoot myself. **_

_**Man, it's so hot. Why did I even wear a hoodie?**_

_**Ugh, and I'm going to be in this seat for the next four hours. I'm so not looking forward to i-**_

"It is quite hot, isn't it?"

Sakura flinched, immediately tensing. Realizing that it was just her seat neighbour, she allowed her tense muscles to relax. "Excuse me?"

"I said that it is quite hot today. I was agreeing with you."

Sakura blinked. "Yeah, I don't recall speaking to you… or at all, actually."

"Oh no, you didn't. I read it in your journal."

"You read my journal? While I was writing? Without my permission?"

He nodded, smiling. If you could call what he was doing _smiling._ She thought it to be cross between looking constipated and looking like you had your appendix removed that morning.

Sakura looked at him. Really looked. And after taking in the paler than normal skin, the dark almost pupil-less eyes, and uninteresting short black hair, she decided… he was weird.

When it became apparent that she was unsure how to proceed, he spoke again. "For someone who is complaining about the weather, your choice of attire is really…" his eyes travelled over her, and she squirmed, uncomfortable with the look-over, "….stupid."

"I'm sorry? I didn't quite catch that. My attire is what..?"

He frowned, eyebrows pulling together. "I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?"

She gave him an odd look, but he just blinked back innocently. He was either an extremely good actor, or he really didn't know. "Gee, I don't know," she said finally, waving a hand. "You tell me."

"Why do I get the feeling any answer I give will be wrong?"

Sakura smiled, amused. "Hn. You're smart… for an idiot."

"Uh…thank you." He answered, unsure. "That was a compliment…right?" he asked after a few moments, giving up on deciding on whether or not it was.

Sakura chuckled at that. "Sure." She said finally. He smiled again, and she grimaced. That was one creepy smile.

"Sakura." She added, sticking out her hand.

He looked at it for a few seconds, as if debating, and then finally shook it. "Er…Sai." he introduced himself. "Charmed."

Sakura gave him a weird look. "People still say that?"

He shrugged, and she chuckled as she bent over to put her diary back into her rucksack. When she straightened back up, Sai was looking at her funny.

"What?"

"After reading your…inner musings, I wouldn't peg you for being much of a conversationalist."

"Actually I'm not."

"Then why are you talking to me?"

"That's an odd question," Sakura commented, face scrunched up, and then after a few more seconds of thought, added, "Actually, no; it's a pretty good question. Why _**am **_I talking to you?"

* * *

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

* * *

Approximately four hours later, Sakura disembarked, and the three people that had been waiting for her immediately waved.

Well, the two girls, one being platinum blonde, the other having navy blue-indigo like hair, waved at her like normal people. The third, a blonde guy, looked more like he was fighting off a swarm of angry bees than waving.

"SAKURAAAAAAAAA!" he shouted as he ran forward, picking her up and swinging her around like a rag doll.

"Yeah. Hi, Naruto." She answered in monotone, even as he continued to swing her around. _**And c**__**ue idiots**_, she thought drearily.

When he finally set her down, still laughing, the blonde girl walked over and smacked him upside the head.

"OW!" he yelled, rubbing the sore spot. "Hey! What was that for?!"

"For being an idiot, duh." She replied, rolling her eyes.

"I-Ino…"

Ino sighed. "Sorry Hinata. I know I promised not to hit him anymore, but your boyfriend here is too much of an idiot sometimes."

"All I did was _**hug**_ her!" Naruto shouted, his voice defensive.

"Actually, if Sakura here was someone prone to motion sickness, a long, non-stop trip followed by vigorous shaking would probably make her vomit."

"Exactly." Ino agreed, smiling. "Thank you, Sai."

"You're welcome…even though I am unsure of what you are thanking me for."

"Sai?" Naruto asked, only then noticing the other boy for the first time. "When did you get here?"

"Oh Naruto…don't you remember?" Ino laughed, repeatedly elbowing said blonde in the ribs, brutally.

"Remember…what?" Naruto asked, in between coughs, trying to fend her off. "Ah, forget it. It hurts too much to care."

Sakura's eyes narrowed suspiciously. Ino's smile was just a tad too innocent. Sakura was about to go super interrogator on her, but was unable to do that, or anything else, when she was suddenly enveloped in a bone-crushing hug.

"Sakuraaa! I missed you soooo much squirt!"

"Nice…to see…you too, sis." Sakura choked out, just barely managing to pat her sister's back.

"Whoa, Maya-san! Her face is turning blue!" Naruto shouted. "Cut it out!"

"Oops…?" Maya squeaked, and then laughed, ruffling Sakura's pink hair, as the pinkette inhaled deeply. "Did ya miss me?"

"You? Maybe…your hugs? Not so much." Sakura wheezed.

"Okay! Let's go, people!" Ino announced, herding them all towards Maya's minivan. "we don't have all day!"

"What's the rush?" Naruto asked, clapping his hands to remove residual dust he had accumulated after he and Sai had finished loading the last of Sakura's luggage.

He coughed again when he received another painful jab to the ribs.

* * *

X-X-X-X-X-X-X

* * *

During the ride home, Sakura sat on one side of the van with Sai while Naruto, Hinata and Ino sat on the other side as Maya drove.

As Sakura watched her suspiciously, Ino chattered away about how excited she was about senior year and going to college.

"I mean, you only get to be a senior once right?" she was saying, waving a hand around.

"Unless you fail and have to repeat." Maya interjected from the front seat.

"Maya-san!"

"Watch the road!"

"Oh, right! Sorry, my bad!" Maya called over her shoulder, staying out of the conversation to focus on her driving.

"We are going to die in here, aren't we?" Naruto moaned.

"ANY-WAY," Ino enunciated, getting everyone's attention again, "as I was saying," she continued, flipping her hair over her shoulder, "I plan to do A LOT this year. There better be better parties than last year. Like, seriously, does no one have a decent sense of style and decorum in Konoha?" she asked, "besides me?" she added after a few seconds of thought.

She received blank stares from Sai and Naruto, while Hinata just looked off to the side, hoping the question wasn't directed at her.

"I propose a welcome-back party for Sakura next week." Ino suddenly announced. "We can invite everyone!" she continued, ignoring the groans of protest. "It could even double as a "We-are-finally-seniors!" party and-"

"What are you planning, Ino-pig?" Sakura interrupted, eyes narrowed, unable to contain her curiosity – and interrogation – anymore.

"Me?" Ino blinked innocently. "I'm not planning anything."

"Oh really?" Sakura replied, raising an eyebrow. She turned to Sai who was sitting next to her. "Say Sai, was it?"

"Yes?"

"How come you didn't have any luggage with you?"

"I was in Tokyo for a one-day art expo today." Sai replied slowly.

"Really? Which museum?"

"Um…"

"Come to think of it, I haven't heard of an art expo that short before." Sakura continued.

"What do you mean?" Sai asked as his eyes darted to the side. Ino was starting to sweat.

**Too easy,** Sakura sighed inwardly.

"If the train we got on left around eleven, what time did you leave Konoha to get to Tokyo before the-"

"Wow Sakura! Your forehead is much larger in person." Ino suddenly interrupted, attempting to distract her.

There was an awkward silence as Sakura, who had been facing Sai, slowly turned to look at a grinning Ino.

"Pardon?"

"They say the camera adds ten pounds, I think your webcam had the opposite effect. Cause wow, I could advertise on that billboard. How much you rentin'?"

Sakura's eye twitched. And then she let out a horrendously fake laugh that had everyone cringing. "Oh Ino, you are SO funny. You know I totally take back what I said about you looking like my neighbour's pet pig. You are much, MUCH prettier."

"Really?" Ino blinked. "I mean…I know right?!" she chirped, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Yes, yes. Much prettier" Sakura smiled, "….. Just like the pet pig's mom." She finished in monotone.

Ino's teeth clenched, grin disappearing instantly.

Hinata sighed. Sai looked bored. Naruto was watching, blue eyes shining with excitement, as he munched on popcorn he had gotten from Kami knows where.

"Guys, c-come on…you promised not to fight anymo-" Hinata started, but was silenced by Naruto's finger on her lips.

"Shhh! I wanna see what will happen next." He whisper-shouted, not taking his eyes off the girls currently locked in a glaring contest.

Hinata's eyes crossed as she looked at Naruto's finger on her mouth, and she sighed again.

"I'll never understand you people." Sai mumbled.

The van suddenly lurched to a stop, causing the teens to scream and grip each other for balance.

"We're here!" Maya announced, jumping out of the front seat.

* * *

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

* * *

Naruto immediately leapt forward to kick the double doors open. He jumped out first, and then caught Hinata, who jumped out next. She was squealing as he swung her around, and Ino jumped out next and rushed to try to stop him.

Sakura stood back in the minivan, watching her friends and sister squabble in the driveway.

"I wonder about their sanity sometimes." Sai commented in her ear, from where he stood next to her. she hadn't even noticed that he had been standing next to her. He then jumped down as well, and then joined Maya where she stood.

Sakura hovered where she stood in the van, smiling faintly as she slowly sank down to sit on the van's floor, legs dangling over the edge.

A breeze blew past and Sakura's eyes fluttered closed as she breathed in deeply, her shoulder-length pink hair fluttering around her. When the breeze passed, her eyes opened and she found herself looking up through the branches of the oak tree she used to climb all the time with her friends.

Her eyes slowly travelled around of their own accord, taking in the place she now called home. A kaleidoscope of memories of her childhood visits flitted through her head, but she shut them out and tried to remain focused on her surroundings instead.

Next door to the right, she saw Naruto's house. Her smile widened a little when she noticed that he still had those horrible orange curtains in his room. Looking down the empty street, she noted that the trees had grown in the few years since she last came here.

Against her will, her eyes travelled to the house next door to the left.

His house.

Sasuke's house.

Eyes flicking to his bedroom window, which was shut, she noted that he too hadn't changed his bedroom curtains. They were still a dark navy blue. Next she saw the other oak tree, the one that grew between their houses (and rooms)…the same old oak tree she used to climb with him and Naruto, before she had met and befriended Hinata and Ino.

And then her eyes flicked downwards, and they met onyx black ones…and she froze.

Breath hitching, she couldn't hear her friends anymore. He didn't move, and neither did she, and how long they stayed that way, staring at each other, she didn't know.

It must have been mere seconds, for she blinked once, and the next thing she knew, he had stepped back and turned around, letting the curtain fall over the window.

The breath she didn't know she had been holding came out in a puff, and her shoulders slumped the slightest bit. It was then that she noticed how quiet it had become. Her head snapped up, she didn't even know when it had lowered.

Her friends were quiet, shuffling uncomfortably in their spots and looking like they had no idea what to say or do. Maya, who had been looking at the window that no one stood at anymore, turned to face her, a sympathetic look on her face…and that was it, Sakura snapped out of her trance-like state and jumped down from the van.

"So," she started, and then stopped. Her voice didn't sound right. She swallowed, clapping her hands of imaginary dust to distract herself while she did so.

"So," she tried again, "you going to show me my new room or what?"

Everyone snapped to attention, grabbing a bag and dragging/hauling/carrying it inside.

When only Sakura and Maya remained outside, Maya walked over to stand in front of her little sister…who she decided really wasn't so little anymore.

"You okay, squirt?"

Sakura pressed her lips together, eyebrows furrowing as she looked up at the sky. Was she okay? she asked herself.

When she lowered her head, she gave her sister a small smile. "I told you not to call me that anymore."

Maya laughed. "Right. My bad…. Saks."

Sakura frowned, and Maya laughed again. "It's either squirt or Saks, pick one."

"How about none of the above?" Sakura deadpanned.

Maya laughed again as she and Sakura went inside.

The rest of the day was spent catching up with her friends over snacks, and for a while Sakura was able to forget just who now lived next door.

* * *

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X


	2. Friendship

_**Try to tell me what to do, you know I won't listen to you, walk around with my hands up in the air, cos I don't care – **_**Naturally – Avril Lavigne.**

* * *

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

* * *

_**A WEEK BEFORE SAKURA'S ARRIVAL IN KONOHA**_

Sai sighed as he pushed the café door open, the bell's jingle announcing his arrival. His dark eyes swept the diner until he spotted where Hinata and Naruto sat. Naruto waved him over to their booth.

It appeared Ino hadn't arrived yet. Not shocking at all, considering the last time he'd talked to her, she'd said she was at the mall.

"Sup, man," Naruto greeted, when he reached them. Hinata smiled from where she sat next to him. "Hi, Sai."

"Hey, that rhymed," Naruto laughed. Hinata chuckled lightly, rolling her eyes.

The couple were seated on one side of the booth, and Sai nodded at them as he slid into the other side. He briefly glanced at the menu, even though he didn't need to, as he had the whole thing memorized. This was his favourite café, after all. He waved the waitress over, knowing already what he wanted to order.

"Where's Ino?" Naruto asked, after a noisy slurp of his milkshake.

Sai shrugged. "I thought she'd already be here."

"She must still be at the mall or something." Naruto concluded.

Hinata sipped her latté silently as her pale eyes gazed out the window. It was around mid-morning and the sun wasn't really hot yet, but it was getting there. It would be noon in a few hours. She knew why Ino had called them all here and she briefly wondered about the foreboding sense gnawing at her. She snapped herself out of it as the waitress arrived.

"Hey y'all!" her voice was loud and cheery as she flipped her notepad open, although her smile was a little forced. "What'll it be?"

She was probably Texan, Hinata mused. Sai ordered an Espresso and a low fat strawberry milkshake, probably for Ino.

The waitress's eyebrows shot up at that. "You gon' drink em both yourself, hon?"

Yup, definitely Texan.

Sai opened his mouth to respond, but the waitress waved her hand. "Never mind, I don't care." She flashed another fake smile. "I'll be right back with your order."

Sai placed the menu back on the table as she walked away. Naruto was absentmindedly drumming his fingers on the table to entertain himself. "So," he exhaled loudly, "what do you guys think of all this?"

Hinata pushed her cup away and spoke first. "I think it's nice of Ino to want to…um, help but..this.."

"Probably won't end well," Sai finished for her.

She nodded, frowning slightly. "It would be wonderful if Sasuke and Sakura worked out their differences…but I think we should stay out of it and let them do it themselves. That is, if they even want to."

"Yeah." Naruto slurped some more of his shake. "They don't."

The waitress returned then, carrying a tray. "Here ya go," she set the espresso and milkshake before Sai.

The bell jingled again, announcing a newcomer's arrival. Ah, just in time.

The group looked up as one to see Ino walking up to their booth. Sai immediately stood up and out of the booth and left way for Ino to pass. He knew how much she hated sitting at the edge or aisle seat.

"Hey guys," she sang as she brushed past Sai to sit. He sank down next to her and switched their drinks, pushing the milkshake towards her as he pulled the Espresso towards himself.

"Sorry I'm late- ooh, milkshake! Awesome, I was parched." She sucked a bit down, and then sighed appreciatively. "Ah, fresh out the blender. Perf!"

Sai smiled faintly and then carefully sipped his espresso. It was scalding hot.

"So, Ino," Naruto started, pushing his own glass away. "We've been thinking-"

"About the plan?" she interrupted, mumbling around her straw. "Good, we can't afford to mess it up."

"We were just talking about it, actually," Naruto tried again. "And we decided…" he trailed off, suddenly remembering that it was _**Ino**_ he was talking to. She could be just as scary as Sakura when she was upset, if not more.

"Well?" she pressed, raising one sleek eyebrow.

"We decided…" he gulped.

"We think it's a bad idea." Sai interjected blandly.

"What?!" she rounded on him. "Why?!"

Naruto sighed. "C'mon, Ino, think about i-" he snapped his mouth when she snarled at him.

Ino noticed him flinch and immediately deflated, one hand coming up to rub at her temple. "They're our friends, you guys," she said softly, "we should help them."

"Helping is good… it's fine," Hinata responded gently, laying a hand over Ino's. "But…this is different."

"You guys," Ino whined. "You know how stubborn those two can be as well as I do. You know they won't fix this without incentive."

Ino watched them share a look. Score one for the blonde.

"Remember when we were kids?" she pressed. "They were inseparable, they did everything together, and we all used to have so much fun together. Don't you want things to be the way they used to be?"

Sai looked down, eyes focusing intently on the espresso clenched between his fingers. He hadn't been around back then, having just been transferred to Konoha high a year prior. But he knew that his circle of friends had been very close when they were children, and the bond they shared seemed to mean a lot to each of them.

Naruto frowned, and Hinata sighed.

Okay. Score two for the blonde.

"Look at what they've become without each other," she complained. "I can barely recognize Sakura anymore, if not for the pink hair. I mean, when I talked to her on video chat, she was sometimes wearing polyester!" she announced dramatically, like it was the worst thing ever. "Polyester!" she repeated for emphasis.

Hinata gasped. "Oh my."

"I know, right?" Ino sighed. "It's so sad. She doesn't even wear red much anymore."

Sai squinted, wondering why the material was of importance, while Naruto scoffed and rolled his eyes. Girls.

"Her fashion sense has changed. OMG. Tragic." he chimed sarcastically.

Ino narrowed her eyes at him. "And Sasuke? When's the last time you heard him laugh? Or even saw him smile?"

Naruto opened his mouth, but Ino raised a manicured finger to silence him. "I don't mean smirking, Naruto. I'm talking about smiling. Smiling."

Naruto grumbled under his breath, but said nothing.

Another score for the blonde. Hatrick. Bonus points. They were so fighting a losing battle.

"Saying the two are in a funk…would be an understatement," Ino concluded. "My point is, we all know, only they can pull each other out of this…this depression or darkness or whatever it is they seem to have sunk into."

"Have you been reading therapy books?" Sai asked curiously. Ino sent a death glare his way, and his attention immediately went back to his rapidly chilling Espresso.

Hinata glanced at Naruto out of the corner of her eyes. His hands were balled up in fists, his knuckles turning white. She sighed. He wanted that more than anyone. Sasuke and Sakura were the first friends he had ever had. And he wanted them back to normal.

Sai also sighed as his eyes slid shut, and Ino knew she had won.

"Fine." Naruto spoke for them all. "What do you want us to do?"

Ino smiled triumphantly, taking one last swig of her shake, before proceeding to tell them about her plan. By the time she was done however, whatever little trace of enthusiasm her peers had before, had vanished.

"You're joking right?" Sai deadpanned. "We can't do that to them."

"I never thought I'd say this," Naruto said gravely, "but for the first time ever… Sai is right!"

"Hey…" Sai complained.

"I don't know about this Ino…" Hinata mumbled.

Ino pouted. "C'mon you guys, it's the only way."

Hinata looked at Naruto, who looked at Sai, who exhaled lightly as he turned to Ino. "Are you sure this is the only way?" he asked. "I mean what if she doesn't even like me."

Ino waved a dismissive hand. "Meh, its fool proof. You sorta look just like Sasuke anyway."

Naruto winced. Ouch. And people said Sai was tactless.

Sai's left eye twitched. "I don't think I can do this.'

"Aw, come on!" Ino whined. "Do it for Sakura and Sasuke!"

"But I don't even know either of them that well. Why should I?"

"Do it for me then, please?" she smiled sweetly, clasping her hands together.

"No."

"But I'm your best friend…Pleaaaaaase?"

"Uh…no?"

"Pretty, pretty, pretty pleaaaaaaaase?" she whined, putting on her best puppy dog pout face.

Sai let out an exasperated sigh. "Why do females think the only way to get a male to do what they want is by manipulation?"

Ino shrugged. "History, personal experience…oh, oh I know, romantic comedies!" she smirked triumphantly, clapping her hands once. "The guy is always putty in the girl's hands in those things."

"Sai," Naruto groaned. "Just say yes so she can stop."

Sai frowned at Ino, who was batting her lashes at him, now in extreme full-on puppy dog pout mode.

"Sooo…You'll do it?" she asked hopefully.

He stared at her for a few more moments, an unreadable expression flittering across his features before he finally gave in. "Alright, fine. I'll do it."

"Yes!" she cheered, hugging his arm. "I have told you that you're awesome, right?"

Naruto and Hinata shared a knowing glance.

Sai rolled his eyes. "You don't have to manipulate me anymore, Ino. I said I'd do it."

Ino chuckled, punching his shoulder lightly. "I wasn't manipulating you, dummy. I meant it."

Just then Ino's phone buzzed. "Oooh, text." She fumbled around her purse, missing the stunned expression on Sai's face. "It's from Maya-san. She says Sakura's coming on Friday. Alright! Sai, you're coming with me!" she announced, snapping her phone shut.

"Where are we going?"

"To get you a ticket for the train." She answered as she stood. Sai remained immobile in his seat. "You have to be in Tokyo on Friday, duh."

"But-"

"Ah, ah, ah." She held up a finger. "You have to 'coincidentally' sit next to Sakura on the train and 'meet' for the first time, remember?" she explained, gesturing with air quotes.

"Yeah, I remember, but...Why?"

"That's what happens in romantic comedies, duh." She scoffed. "The guy meets the girl on the train, only to find that they have the same destination and so begins a crazy sequence of escapades that leads them to fall in love, or in this case, for Sakura to fall in like with you making Sasuke extremely jealous and he'll want to fix it all, and they'll talk and run off into the sunset to have brooding pink haired children and live happily ever after for the rest of their lives…more or less."

Naruto blinked. "I don't know what's scarier. That plan or the fact that you said it all in one breath."

"I really think this is bad idea, Ino," Hinata spoke as she nervously tugged at her hair. "I mean…isn't it the same as lying to them?"

"Of course not!" Ino laughed. "We're not lying. We're tricking them. It's a totally different concept."

"T-Tricking…?"

"We can't trick them!" Naruto exploded.

"Well, what did you think we were doing, Einstein?"

"Oh I don't know…helping them?!"

"Relax, Naruto." Sai warned. "You don't want to get kicked out…again. Do you?"

Naruto growled. "But…you don't understand. When Sakura finds out, we're all dead. Not even ironman - in theatres now - would be able to save us from her wrath."

"Ironman has been released in theatres?" Ino asked, absentmindedly glossing up her lips as she scrutinised her face in her compact's mirror.

"Yeah, in 3D." Naruto grinned, momentarily distracted.

"Ooh, Sai we should go see it!" Ino clapped excitement evident on her face.

"I thought you hated action movies," Sai answered, puzzled.

"No, I do hate them. But Robert Downey Jnr. Is. Yummy. Sooo…" she shrugged.

"GUYS, THIS IS SERIOUS!" Naruto shrieked, suddenly remembering that very important fact. "SAKURA IS GOING TO KILL US."

"Will you relax," Ino scolded. "Sakura won't hurt you."

"No, she'll _kill_ me, is what she'll do." He muttered grudgingly.

"You're exaggerating." Ino scoffed.

"No, I'm NOT." Naruto whined. "I'm still recovering from that atomic wedgie she gave me four years ago…thank you very much."

He glared when they all started snickering. "THAT WASN'T FUNNY!"

"Yeah, whatever, Naruto." Ino sighed, standing up again as she ushered Sai out of his seat. "We've got to go now, before the guy at the ticket booth at the train station leaves for lunch. I have some questions for him."

"I'll go pay." Sai announced, striding to the counter.

"What are you guys doing today?" Ino asked, facing the couple as she brushed imaginary lint off her outfit.

"We're going over to Gaara's place later." Naruto answered. "We're gonna watch a movie or something."

"But doesn't he scare Hinata?" Ino asked, tapping a foot impatiently as she waited for Sai to return.

Hinata chuckled lightly, shaking her head. "Not anymore. He..just takes some getting used to, is all."

"Ya see? Told ya Gaara wasn't so bad," Naruto grinned.

"Finally," Ino sighed as Sai walked back towards them. "Guess I'll see you two later then," she said as she quickly grabbed her purse and keys.

"Later guys!" Naruto shouted after them. "Drive safe!" Hinata added.

Sai nodded back at them as he held the door open for Ino to walk through.

Naruto watched their backs disappear thoughtfully.

"What?" Hinata asked, following his line of sight.

"Those two are dating, right?"

"No. They're just friends." Hinata shook her head, and then smiled. "They are really close, but they aren't dating."

"Well…not yet, you mean." Naruto clarified.

Hinata chuckled lightly.

"What? We all know that's how it starts, I mean look at us."

Hinata blushed. "I suppose you have a point. Hanabi and Konohamaru are another example."

Naruto grinned, thinking of his 'little brother'. "Hanabi has good taste. Just like her sister." He waggled his eyebrows.

Hinata laughed again, elbowing him in the rib lightly.

"I wish I could say the same for Sasuke-bastard and Sakura." He sighed lightly.

"Well, if Ino's plan works right, you will." She offered.

"Right… unless the plan backfires in our faces and Sakura kills us all in a fit of rage." Naruto scoffed, making Hinata laugh again. "Then again," he perked up, "maybe they could bond over their mutual desire to annihilate us, and the plan would work after all!"

Hinata chuckled. "Have I ever told you that you have an….interesting sense of logic?"

"You may have mentioned it once or twice." he grinned. "And thanks for finding a euphemism for 'retarded.'"

"Well…you know the word 'euphemism' and just used it in a sentence that was grammatically correct…so I wouldn't say you are retarded…much." She teased.

Naruto rolled his eyes and mock glared at her.

* * *

X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X

* * *

"You know, you're lucky I came with my car and didn't hitch a ride from Kiba, otherwise we'd be walking the 3 miles to the train station," Ino spoke loudly, talking over the pop song blaring from her car radio.

"Yes, I'll try to contain my excitement," Sai drawled as he reached over to reduce the volume so they wouldn't have to yell as much when they talked.

Ino chuckled lightly, shaking her head as she waited for the red stop light to turn green.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a while, the only sounds in the car being the radio and Ino subconsciously humming along to the tune. No one really knew, but Ino could actually sing. She loved music and he wouldn't be surprised if she actually considered becoming a musician.

He stole a glance at her. Her brow was furrowed in concentration, her fingers lightly drumming on the steering wheel as she swiftly manoeuvred them through the midday traffic.

Then again, she probably also wanted to become a brain surgeon **_(1)_** like her dad, as he expected her to. Despite the blonde stereotype, Ino was actually pretty intelligent when it came to academics, and her grades mattered to her, albeit not as much as making sure her cheerleading squad was in tip top form, but they were important to her all the same.

He hadn't really known Ino that long, only little over a year, but he knew no one knew her better than he did.

"Why are you so quiet?" Ino suddenly spoke, breaking into his random thoughts.

"I'm always quiet." He pointed out.

"Not this quiet," she insisted, keeping her eyes on the road. "You've barely said anything since we left the café."

He shrugged, knowing she'd see it in her peripheral vision.

"C'mon. What are you thinking about?" she pressed.

He paused for a second, mulling. "Can I ask you something?"

"You're asking if you can ask me something?" she squinted at him out of the corner of her eye. "Are you sick or something? Cause normally you'd just ask anyway, regardless of what it was."

"I think this one question can be classified as personal, so you can choose not to answer it if you so wish."

This time she did turn to frown at him for a few seconds before turning her attention back to the road. "Okaaaay…shoot."

"Why are you so determined to intervene on Sakura and Sasuke's behalf?"

"That's your question?" Ino asked disbelievingly, surprised.

Sai shrugged. "I've just never seen you so determined about something, so I'm curious, I suppose."

Ino remained silent for a few minutes, contemplating the question. Sai figured she probably wouldn't answer, and had just about forgotten about it when she finally spoke.

"I guess…I just don't want Sakura – or Sasuke – both of them…I don't want them to make the same mistake I did."

Sai didn't miss the way her hands tightened on the wheel, and so he simply nodded as the song that had been playing ended and a new one started.

"Ooooh, I love this song!" Ino squealed. "Turn it up!"

Sai complied, turning the volume back up, knowing Ino well enough to know she was done talking. She cheered in delight, singing along to what Sai considered the most preppy, tacky cliché pop song he'd ever heard. But then she laughed after noticing the look of distaste on his face, and he found himself smiling as he reached for the sketchpad he kept handy for whenever inspiration hit.

Feeling definitely inspired, he sat back and began to sketch, Ino's singing filling his ears.

* * *

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

* * *

_**(1)- That's me trying to make a pun of the Yamanaka's ability to mind read and swap and stuff.**_


	3. Reminiscent

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Long ass chapter, sorry.**

* * *

_**Are you aware of what you make me feel? – **_**Losing Grip – Avril Lavigne.**

* * *

X-X-X-X-X-X

* * *

What the hell is she doing here?

Sasuke blinked once. And again. And a third time.

And still each time he opened his eyes… there she was.

Haruno Sakura.

In Konoha.

Sasuke scowled. Last time he saw her, she had..…just, what the hell was she doing here again?

Sasuke liked to think he was a smart person. Some even called him a genius. And being the genius he was, he didn't like not knowing or understanding something. And for whatever reason, the unknown and misunderstandings seemed to be synonymous with the name; Haruno Sakura.

And after almost 3 years, give or take a few months, it seemed fate decided to deliver a sucker punch to his gut and drop her into his life again. As he watched her standing there, in the back of her sister's van, he noted that she had changed.

While the change wasn't that drastic, he was pretty sure the Sakura he knew didn't look like…that. Sure, on one hand, her hair was still the colour of freshly bloomed cherry blossoms, and she still wore it long and straight, falling to the small of her back, just a few inches short of her waist, but her style choice, on the other hand… had changed. For he knew Sakura would never be caught dead in a hoodie and Graffiti covered shoes.

The Sakura he remembered loved to wear red.

Red girly dresses, usually it was. Sometimes it was the occasional pink little shirt with some matching cute little shorts.

But always… it was always red.

The girl in front of him was…well, he could only conclude that she was...different now, for lack of a better word.

"Otouto?"

Sasuke let go of the curtain he had been holding back, and then turned to find his brother watching him.

"What are you doing?"

Great, what was he doing home? Sasuke was irritated, but he had to tread carefully. Itachi had a way of manipulating any situation to meet his purpose: to make fun of and annoy him.

"I wasn't doing anything." He answered evenly, making his voice sound as nonchalant as possible.

Something akin to amusement flickered across Itachi's face. Clearly, he wasn't buying it. "You weren't spying on our neighbours by any chance, were you?"

'Damn it.' Sasuke's eyes narrowed dangerously in warning, daring his brother, even though he said nothing. Actions spoke louder than words, after all.

Itachi's mouth quirked upwards, amusement still evident on his face as he crossed the room to stand next to his brother. He pulled the curtain back, and his eyebrows immediately shot up.

"Is that who I think it is?" he asked, looking at the pink-haired girl standing in the open van that faced their window.

"Who knows." Sasuke shrugged, yawning slightly as he feigned indifference.

Itachi cast him a sideways glance, an eyebrow raised. "She has the pink hair." He pointed out.

"So? Anyone can dye their hair pink."

Itachi sighed and turned back to watch. Sai had come up to stand next to Sakura. Curiosity piqued, Itachi surveyed the area and sure enough, nearby he spotted Maya, Hinata, Naruto and…Ino. Itachi resisted the urge to chuckle. The Yamanaka girl was clearly up to something, if the way she kept glancing at Sai and Sakura discreetly in between attempts to calm down Naruto, was any indication.

"Interesting." He commented.

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"It's your twin." Itachi joked as he stepped back, pulling the curtain back for his brother to see.

Sasuke spotted Sai and Sakura standing next to each other in the van, and his eyes immediately narrowed in distaste, Sakura momentarily forgotten as he glared daggers at the boy he had deemed nothing but a wannabe since the first time he had laid eyes on him. Needless to say, Sasuke didn't think Sai looked like him that much. Or at all actually. If asked for his opinion of the pale boy, Sasuke would probably say he thought he was just plain weird, if at all he even responded to the query.

He resisted the urge to growl in disdain as said 'weird wannabe' bent to whisper something in Sakura's ear before jumping down from the van.

"You know," Itachi started, and Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes, knowing already what his brother was about to say. "With the way they had been standing like that and her wearing that navy blue jumper, they almost looked like you two when you -"

"Hn." Sasuke interrupted. "Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

He wasn't really interested in where Itachi was supposed to be, but he wasn't in the mood for his 'I'm your older and wiser brother and I know everything' complex.

"I was on my way to the station actually," Itachi chuckled. "You know, if you keep staring like that, I might just have to take you in for stalking."

Sasuke let out a tiny frustrated sigh. Why did his brother insist on being so annoying? Really, Naruto had no idea how lucky he was to be an only child.

"Anything specific you want me to pick up for dinner tonight?" Itachi asked as he grabbed his jacket from the couch and walked into the kitchen for a glass of water.

Silence.

"Sasuke?" he called after a few more moments of silence.

Nothing.

Curious, Itachi peeked back into the living room. Sasuke was, sure enough, still looking out the window, but what caught Itachi's attention was the rigid posture his brother was sporting. That could only mean one thing.

"Otouto?"

Sasuke let the curtain fall back in place, turning back around to face his brother. "What?"

"You okay? You look like you've seen a pink-haired ghost."

"Is that supposed to be funny?"

"No." Itachi answered seriously. He didn't like the look on Sasuke's face. He hadn't seen that look in years, and he'd much rather have not seen it again.

"Are you sure you're okay, Otouto?" he pressed.

Sasuke decided to forego answering his brother in favour of walking away. He slowly trudged up the stairs and disappeared into his room, without even so much as a backward glance.

But if he had glanced back, he would have noticed that his brother was out of the room before he was even all the way up the stairs.

* * *

X-X-X-X-X

* * *

Sasuke really didn't like unknown factors.

Muttering under his breath, he pushed his bedroom door open, ignoring the sound of his brother's car engine revving as he drove off to work, or wherever it was he had decided to go. He didn't really care what his older brother did. The two of them had an unspoken agreement to stay out of each other's way, unless Itachi felt like annoying or bothering him for fun, which unfortunately for Sasuke happened quite often.

Even as he kicked the door closed behind him, Sasuke could feel his eyebrow twitching. He scratched his head, messing up his unruly ebony locks even more than they already were, as he flopped down on his bed, a frown marring his features.

So Sakura was back in town…Big deal.

And as far as he could tell, she was probably moving in, if the luggage they had been carrying in was any indication.

Not that he cared.

It didn't affect him either way, and thinking about it was clearly a waste of time.

As he reclined on his bed, Sasuke soon found himself wondering just how much had changed about Sakura in the three years since he had last seen her. For the most part, her outer appearance hadn't changed that much. But could the same be said about the inside?

Sasuke scowled. Hadn't he just told himself that pondering it was a waste of time?

But it appeared his brain had other ideas, for his thoughts were already moving a mile a minute. Long suppressed memories of the Sakura he had known were rushing to the surface…

Her eyes were still the same striking jade green he remembered; the only thing, apart from her hair, that he could seem to identify on her as having stayed the same over the years.

Sasuke's scowl tightened. Why did he have to meet her stupid eyes in the first place…

* * *

X-X-X-X-X

* * *

"_**Good afternoon, Mrs Uchiha," a 7 year old Sakura greeted politely as she entered the kitchen, "is Sasuke home?"**_

"_**Oh, hello dear," Mikoto replied. "Sasuke is in the backyard with his brother. Go on." She smiled warmly.**_

"_**Thanks!" Sakura called over her shoulder as she ran out.**_

_**Mikoto smiled at her retreating back, wondering what had gotten her so excited.**_

"_**Hey Sasuke! Quick, come see! Kiba got a puppy! He's so cute!" Sakura shouted, her excited voice carrying on the wind.**_

_**Ah, that explained that, Mikoto smiled, shaking her head at Sasuke's predictable reply.**_

"_**I don't want to see some stupid mutt, Aniki is teaching me how to-"**_

"_**But Sasukeeee, you have to come seeee," Sakura interrupted, whining.**_

"_**It's just a puppy, Sakura," Itachi cut in. **_

"_**It's not JUST a puppy," Sakura scoffed. "Akamaru is a special breed. Practically an endangered species." She stated matter-of-factly.**_

"_**There are no endangered dog species," Sasuke shot back.**_

"_**Akamaru, eh? Interesting name for a dog." Itachi commented, attuned to stopping Sasuke-Sakura arguments before they could fully start. **_

"_**Says you!" Sakura snapped. "He is too an endangered species!"**_

_**Sasuke frowned. "I'm not going to walk all the way to Kiba's house just to see some mangy mutt."**_

_**Itachi sighed. So much for stopping another Sasuke-Sakura argument.**_

"_**Why not?" Sakura demanded; her balled-up fists on her hips. Sasuke tried not to feel intimidated. **_

"_**I'll get bitten by fleas." He deadpanned.**_

_**Itachi laughed.**_

_**Sakura didn't think that was funny, choosing not to rise to the bait in favour of grabbing Sasuke's arm and pulling him along behind her all the way to Kiba's house where he was forced to see the 'special breed/ endangered species-belonging wonder dog Akamaru'… against his will, of course.**_

_**Unfortunately for him, Sakura did always have an unusually strong arm.**_

* * *

_**X-X-X-X-X-X**_

* * *

Sasuke scowled as he fidgeted, trying to get comfortable on his huge bed, in the end opting to lie on his back, as he glared at his ceiling even as he tried to force the tumbling memories back.

He refused to remember anything else. None of it mattered, it was in the past, and the past had to stay in the past, where it belonged. He scowled harder. It appeared his memories were as stubborn as he was, because he remembered.

* * *

X-X-X-X-X-X

* * *

"_**Have you ever seen anything so AWESOME!" Naruto cheered, shoving a jar in his best friends' faces.**_

_**Inside the jar, there appeared to be some weird looking lumps floating in a clear liquid.**_

"_**What the heck are they?" Sasuke asked in monotone, choosing to ignore the blonde's excited cheers. He never really was interested in most of what came out of Naruto's mouth, anyways.**_

"_**My tonsils!" Naruto grinned. "They came out yesterday. I had to eat tubs and tubs and tubs of ice cream afterwards. Cool huh?"**_

_**It took a whole two seconds for THAT to register. This took 'stuff coming out of Naruto's mouth' to a whole other level. **__**A gross level.**_

"_**EWWWWWW!" Sakura shrieked. "Get those things away from me! No one wants to see your stupid tonsils!" **_

"_**Aw, come on Sakura-chan," Naruto teased, "It's just my tonsils. They're not stupid."**_

"_**Why on earth would you keep them?" she demanded, balled up fists on her hips in the patented 'Sakura's going to beat the snot out of you if you don't choose your words carefully' pose.**_

"_**Uh…. because they're awesome?" Naruto replied, blinking as though that should have been obvious.**_

_**Sakura's glare intensified. "I really wonder what goes on inside that head of yours sometimes, Naruto. No one in their right mind would keep something so disgusting and deem it awesome."**_

"_**Geez, it's just tonsils, Sakura-chan." Naruto muttered, wounded. "You better get used to seeing stuff like 'em. If you're going to be a nurse, you're gonna have to see worse stuff anyways."**_

_**Apart from losing his tonsils, Naruto lost his tooth that week. And not because it had been loose.**_

* * *

_**X-X-X-X-X-X-**_

* * *

Sasuke snapped his eyes shut, muttering under his breath as he turned over to lie on his side. He was pretty sure it wasn't a good idea to let random memories run wild in his head.

Deciding a distraction was in order; he swung his legs over and sat on the edge of his bed, letting his eyes wander around his room.

He noticed that he had left his game on, a giant 'pause' flickering on the flat screen T.V. But he felt no inclination to continue where he left off, and so he ignored the contraption for now.

Next, he saw his unfinished art sketches for his vacation assignments for art class. He frowned at how haphazardly strewn about he'd left them on his desk. If those weren't done by the time school opened, Anko would surely have his head…or possibly feed his so called 'talented fingers' to her pet snake…which she brought to school with her every day.

The woman was clearly insane, and why the school board let someone like _**her**_ teach young, impressionable teenagers was beyond him.

He sighed in frustration, knowing there was no way he could draw anything Michelangelo-esque in the sour mood he was in. Feeling a little antsy, he got up and walked around, trying to find something to occupy himself with.

He straightened up his desk a bit, packing all his pencils and colours away and neatly arranging all his manila paper, taking extra care not to get any ink on himself. When his desk was the epitome of neatness and organization and his OCD was quelled…for now…he found himself without a distraction and his eyes soon began to wander around his room again.

They eventually landed on his closet. And as if moving on auto-pilot, in a few strides, he had crossed his room to stand before it. Still unsure of his own actions, his hand lifted to open the top doors and pulled. As the double doors swung open, he was greeted with a layer of dust and cobwebs, which he swatted away irritably. This wasn't surprising, and in hindsight he probably should have seen it coming, considering he never opened these particular doors. He supposed he should have questioned why he never did, and why he was doing so now, but it was like the day had officially been christened 'Weird Day' and so he paid no mind to it.

After peering into the dark and dusty compartment, he at first saw nothing and was about to laugh at himself for acting like a paranoid teen on one of those stupid horror shows, when out of the corner of his eye, just as he was about to close the doors again… he saw a small box in the far left corner.

His eyes narrowed.

How did that get up there? And where had it come from?

Instinct was telling him to just ignore it and close the door and get back to trying to beat that infernal level on that mindless game he had been playing, like any irrational teenager. But it seemed his body was still on auto-pilot, for next thing he knew, he was on his toes, reaching for the little box and pulling it out to stare at the dust covered cover.

Against his better judgement, he pried the lid off. The contents or rather the 'thing' he found inside, he found so utterly ridiculous he could only blink at it dumbly.

"Wondering where that came from?"

Sasuke flinched. How the hell had Itachi managed to sneak into his room without him noticing? He hated it when he did that. And just how long had he been standing there watching him act like a paranoid freak?

"What are you-"

"Not working tonight." Itachi shrugged, knowing what Sasuke had been about to ask. "Chief gave me the night off for some reason."

"Mmhmm." Sasuke murmured. He did not buy it, but deemed it not important enough to press the issue. "What is this doing here?" he asked instead, showing Itachi the box he had just 'discovered'. "Last time I checked, we don't have a sister…or any female running around here."

Itachi gave him a puzzled look. "Don't you remember?"

Sasuke just barely managed to refrain from rolling his eyes. "I wouldn't be asking if I did, now would I."

Itachi sighed as he pushed off the doorframe he had been leaning on. "You've had it since you were seven. You wouldn't let anyone neither give nor throw it away. Not even Mother."

Sasuke stiffened slightly at the mention of his mother, but if Itachi had noticed he didn't comment on it. Taking Sasuke's silence as an inclination to continue, he kept talking.

"You got it the day you first met Sakura."

Sasuke continued to blink dumbly at the dusty box in his hands, even as foggy little memories flickered about randomly, until they fell together like puzzle pieces…and he remembered.

* * *

_****__**X-X-X-X-X**_

* * *

_**FLASHBACK**_

_"But Mooom…"_

_Mikoto Uchiha sighed for what was probably the hundredth time that night. Considering the fact that they had only been inside the theatre for about half an hour; it was a new record for Sasuke really._

_"Must you always complain, Otouto? you know how stressful that is for mother, do you not?"_

_Sasuke pouted. "Why do you always use big words? No one likes a show off," he stated matter-of-factly._

_Itachi blinked down at his 7-year-old brother. "Stressful is a big word?"_

_Sasuke huffed and turned back to his Mom._

_"Moooom."_

_Said woman sighed again. "Now Sasuke, what did I say?"_

_"Fine." Sasuke huffed, slumping back into his seat in defeat._

_"It's starting." Itachi whispered, raising a finger to his lips at Sasuke as the lights dimmed and the stage curtains opened._

_"Thank you, Captain Obvious." He sneered._

_Sasuke frowned when his mother shushed him. The intros began, and he fidgeted in his seat as the audience clapped._

_Really, he didn't see the point of this. His mother would drag him and his brother to see the same old play whenever they came to Tokyo. This time around, they were in Tokyo because their father was attending a summit or something for work. Sasuke hadn't really been listening when he'd been told; he had been too excited about the trip._

_Clearly, he had gotten excited for nothing._

_He yawned, bored already. How could his mother and brother enjoy this when they had seen it eight times already? Sasuke couldn't see the point. He opened his mouth to say something, but then thought better of it._

_But being a 7 year old, he had a pretty short attention span, and so just 15 minutes later, he couldn't stand sitting still anymore._

_"Mom," he whispered, tugging on her sleeve, "I have to go to the bathroom."_

_Anything had to be more entertaining than this._

_Mikoto sighed and nodded her head. "Come straight back." She warned._

_Sasuke nodded. "Yes mother." He answered obediently as he hopped off his seat and ran off, and then ran back again as something occurred to him._

_"What is it?" his mother asked when he reached her._

_"Can I get some popcorn too?"_

_Mikoto smiled as she reached into her purse and then handed him a few notes._

_"You're going to get snacks after coming from the lavatory? Seems unsanitary to me." Itachi commented._

_"More big words… show-off," Sasuke replied and then stuck his tongue out before running off again._

_Mother and son laughed as Sasuke disappeared around the corner…before being abruptly shushed by everyone around them._

_X-X-X-X_

_Sasuke headed straight for the concessions stand, not really needing to go to the bathroom. As he ambled along slowly, he debated on whether or not he really wanted popcorn. He could go for some liquorice…hmmm, what the heck, maybe he'd get some soda too._

_"But Siiiiiis, it's so gross," a high pitched voice whined._

_"Come on, squirt, green tea is healthy. It's good for you and it really helps with weight problems."_

_"I'm 5 and a half," Sakura pointed out._

_Maya laughed and patted her head. "Just try it."_

_Sakura took a sip, and then grimaced. "I don't like it. It tastes weird."_

_"It will grow on you, I'm sure." Maya said as she took her hand. "We should hurry, the play has already started."_

_Sakura stopped walking. "I'll catch up, but first I kinda need to go the bathroom." She said hurriedly._

_She didn't really need to go to the bathroom, the only thought in mind being to rid herself of the icky water her sister was convinced was tea._

_"Okay, but hurry okay, Mum and Dad are gonna freak if I lose you again."_

_Sakura let out an exasperated sigh, "That was ONE time." She complained._

_Maya laughed and ruffled her hair again. "Right, right, just hurry up, okay squirt?"_

_"Yeah, I got i-"_

_"Look out!"_

_SPLASH._

_Well. That took care of the icky tea._

_"Oh my Gosh, I'm so sorry! It was an accident!"_

_"Sakura," Maya sighed, shaking her head._

_In her haste, Sakura had bumped into another kid, spilling her tea all over him. The look on his face indicated he wasn't too happy about it._

_"You have got to be kidding me!" Sasuke shouted, as he examined his now soggy shirt with horror._

_"Here let me help," Sakura was saying as she started rubbing his shirt._

_"Uh, Sakura, I think you're making it worse," Maya commented, sweat dropping as she watched the tea stain spread with every vigorous rub._

_"Stop that!" Sasuke snapped as he slapped her hands away. "My shirt is ruined! Mother is going to scold me again."_

_"Hmm," Maya's eyes narrowed as she examined the shirt, "I think I can save both you and your shirt."_

_Sakura and Sasuke looked at the calculating look on her face as she grinned down at them both, and then exchanged a nervous glance._

_This wasn't going to end well._

_X-X-X-X_

_"Is it done yet?" Sasuke called for the bajilionth time._

_"I don't think she finished in the 15 seconds since you last asked her," Sakura shifted uneasily from where she sat next to him._

_The two kids were sitting on a bench outside the restrooms._

_Sasuke frowned. "Well can you blame me for not wanting to wait any longer?" he asked as he gestured to what he was wearing._

_Sakura stifled a giggle. "I think it looks cute." She said seriously._

_"Of course you would think that, seeing as it's yours!"_

_This time Sakura did laugh, a loud airy laugh. "Aw come on, you have to admit it is pretty funny," she gasped out between giggles._

_Sasuke looked down at the 'My Little Pony' jumper he was wearing. The pink was making his eyes hurt. The corners of his mouth twitched._

_"It's not funny."_

_"Then why are you trying not to laugh?"_

_"Never mind," Sasuke muttered crossing his arms._

_"Hey, did you come here with someone?" Sakura asked curiously, after noticing that he was alone for the first time. "I don't see anyone with you."_

_"Wow, nothing gets past you, huh?"_

_"I'm here with my big sister," Sakura chirped happily._

_"Older sister," he corrected, smirking when she pouted. "Yeah, I noticed." He stated blandly, in response to her statement. "I'm here with my mother and elder brother." He added when she frowned at him._

_Her face immediately brightened. "Ohhh? You have a big brother, I'm so jealous; I only have Onee-chan. I don't have any brothers." She began to swing her legs. "I wish I had a brother." She sighed._

_"Why?"_

_"Why?" she echoed, blinking up at him, her green eyes wide with innocence, "well, because big brothers are cool. They carry you on their shoulders, and protect you from bullies, and-"_

_"Okay, I get it," Sasuke interrupted. "Yeah, big brothers can be cool….sometimes," he added with a smile, thinking of the many times Itachi got on his nerves, in his amusement forgetting to use the correct grammar._

_"Yes, but big sisters are even cooler," Sakura said matter-of-factly with a raised finger._

_"Why?"_

_"Why?" she frowned, "because big sisters can do things that big brothers can't, like make perfect braids, and play with dollies, and dress-up, and –"_

_"Okay, I get it," Sasuke interrupted again. "I wouldn't know, I don't have sister," he added with a shrug, "and I don't play with dollies or braid my hair-"_

_"That would be so weird," Sakura interrupted with a giggle._

_Sasuke smiled back at her. Her giggle was cute…. for a girl with cooties._

_"I'm sorry about your shirt by the way; I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."_

_"Its fine," Sasuke shrugged, waving a hand dismissively, "Your sister said she'd fix it right?"_

_Sakura nodded, beaming up at him. "Yup, see, big sisters **are** better than big brothers," she said with another giggle._

_Sasuke shrugged again._

_"Hey, did you come to see the same play we did?" Sakura asked, her green eyes sparkling with excitement._

_"Gee, I don't know," Sasuke answered, smirking down at her, "Was there another play on tonight?"_

_"N-no, I guess not," Sakura agreed, blushing when she realized how obvious that was. "We have seen this play already, but we like to come here and see it anyway because its Onee-chan's favorite." She said as she smiled up at him._

_"It's my mother's favorite too," Sasuke replied. "This is the eighth time we have come here to see it."_

_"Eighth? Ha! This is the ninth time Onee-chan and me are seeing it!" Sakura cheered in a triumphant voice._

_"Onee-chan and I," Sasuke corrected._

_"Whatever," She rolled her eyes._

_They sat in silence for a while before Sakura frowned when something registered. "Come here? You mean you don't live here?"_

_Sasuke shook his head. "No. My family lives in Kyoto."_

_"Aw, that stinks," Sakura muttered._

_"Why?"_

_"Why?" she echoed._

_"Yeah, why? It's not like Kyoto isn't a nice place," Sasuke replied defensively._

_"Well, if you live in Kyoto and I live here, I can't invite you to come play in the park with me tomorrow, now can I?"_

_"Why would you do that?"_

_"Why?" she echoed._

_Sasuke resisted the urge to smack his face. That was starting to get old._

_"Because it's what friends do, silly," she giggled again._

_"Friends?" he echoed, mulling over the word._

_"Yeah," Sakura nodded, "we are friends now, aren't we?"_

_"Yeah." Sasuke answered, grinning._

_"Oh, I just remembered!" She suddenly exclaimed, "we're friends and we don't even know each other's names." She giggled._

_"Oh right, I completely forgot too," Sasuke laughed._

_"I'm Sakura. Haruno Sakura, nice to meet you," she said, sticking out a hand and flashing a toothy grin._

_"Sa-ku-ra," he rolled the name around on his tongue as he took her hand. "Is that because of your hair? I was wondering about that."_

_"Oh…yeah, I was wondering when you would mention it," she said in small voice as her hand reached up to run through her pink locks._

_"What's wrong?"_

_"Some kids like to make fun of me because of my hair and forehead."_

_"Why?"_

_"Why?" she echoed, and Sasuke sighed. That 'why' seemed to be real problem with her._

_"Because it's pink. And because my forehead is really big."_

_"I think your hair is nice."_

_"Thanks." She blushed._

_Sasuke coughed, his own cheeks a faint pink. "Soooo… what about your forehead?" he asked hurriedly, changing the subject._

_She sighed. "Promise not to laugh?"_

_"Promise." He said solemnly, as he held up a hand and made a cross over his heart with the other._

_Sakura giggled again, and then sighed as she reached up to lift her bangs._

_"Uh…I'm sure you'll grow into it..?" he offered weakly, and then panicked when she dropped her arms, biting her lip and obviously fighting back tears._

_"N-No wait! I wasn't being mean, I promise!" he hurriedly shouted, waving his arms in front of him._

_"Promise?" she hiccupped._

_"Promise!"_

_"Okay", she replied, giving him a watery smile._

_"Okay."_

_Whew. That was close._

_"Hmmm, okay it does kinda stink that I live in Kyoto." He said with a thoughtful frown._

_"Why do you say that?" she asked._

_"Why?" he echoed._

_And this time she giggled. He gave an awkward cough, his cheeks tinged pink again._

_"Because if I'm in Kyoto I can't protect you from the bullies, silly," he answered, and then gave another awkward cough._

_Sakura giggled again. "It's okay; I have that affe- effect- effect on all my friends." She beamed up at him when she finally got the word right. "it's very nice of you to say that by the way, but it's okay, Idate-chan always chases away the bullies when Onee-chan isn't around to."_

_"Idate-chan?"_

_Sakura nodded. "Idate-chan is my best friend."_

_Sasuke hmmph-ed and crossed his arms._

_"What?"_

_"Nothing."_

_Sakura giggled again, making him blush again._

_He scowled as he turned away. "What kind of best friend would let them bully you in the first place?"_

_Sakura shook her head and giggled again._

_"Hey! You still haven't told me your name!" she exclaimed, suddenly remembering that very important fact._

_"Oh right! I guess I kinda forgot!" he laughed. "My name is-"_

_"Otouto! There you are! What did mother say about…" Itachi trailed off, and then looked at his brother like he had grown extra head._

_Well, technically the unicorn hoodie didn't count as an extra head. Still._

_"What are you wearing?" he asked, still staring at the pink jumper Sasuke was wearing._

_"Nii-san! I completely forgot about you and Mother!" Sasuke exclaimed as he hopped down from the bench._

_"Where's your shirt?"_

_"Oh! Ahehehe, it's a long story!" Sasuke chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his head._

_"It was my fault," Sakura piped up as she hopped down from the bench to stand next to Sasuke. "I spilt my green tea on it. My Onee-chan is in the bathroom cleaning it right now."_

_Itachi blinked twice…and then started laughing._

_"Hey! It's not funny!" Sakura and Sasuke snapped in unison, and then blinked at each other before doubling over in laughter._

_"Yes well, mother has been worried sick," Itachi started once they had calmed down some, "You were gone for a long time. You know what I said Otouto, it's very-"_

_"Stressful for mother when I disappear like that," Sasuke interrupted, mocking Itachi's accent. "I know, I know." He whined._

_Itachi frowned, although the amusement was clear in his eyes. "I don't talk like that."_

_"No, it's way show-off-ier when you do it," Sasuke replied._

_"Sasuke…" Itachi started, his voice taking on a warning tone._

_"Okay, okay, I'm soorrryyy," he whined._

_Sakura giggled loudly, cutting off whatever response Itachi had planned. "You two are weird… in a funny way," she giggled, and then sighed. "I want a big brother too."_

_"Boys!"_

_Both brothers turned to see their mother waving her hand a few feet away from them._

_"We are leaving immediately, your father is waiting for us in the car outside, come along now," she said as she shrugged on her coat._

_"Is that your mom?" Sakura asked, as she stared in wonderment at Mikoto Uchiha._

_"Yup." Sasuke confirmed, making a popping sound on the 'p'._

_"She's really pretty," Sakura commented in an awed whisper as she watched the beautiful woman in the really pretty kimono smooth down her coat._

_Her smile was warm, and her kind eyes were framed by hair that was really long and shiny, it was a navy blue-black like colour, just like…wait, what was his name again?_

_She turned to him with the intent to ask him, and then frowned when she found him looking at her with a sad frown._

_"Oh," she said softly, catching on, "this is bye, right?"_

_"No."_

_"No?" she echoed._

_He chuckled. Apparently, that wasn't just limited to 'why'._

_"It's see you later."_

_She chuckled and nodded. "This IS your mom's favorite play right? They don't show it anywhere else. So that means…"_

_"Yup, we will see each other again...Later."_

_"Promise?"_

_"Promise!" he proclaimed, holding up a hand and crossing his heart with the other, making her giggle again._

_"See you later."_

_"See you later." He nodded and then took after his brother who was already following their mother out._

_He skidded to stop and turned around. "Oh hey! One more thing!"_

_"What?"_

_"I still think Big brothers are cooler than big sisters." He said with a smirk._

_She frowned. "No! No! NO! Big sisters are waaaaay more cooler than big brothers!" she shot back, stomping her foot for emphasis._

_He laughed and waved, before running off to catch up with his mother and brother, her giggle following him, making him grin._

_Someone really needed to do something about that girl's grammar._

_He huffed when he finally reached the car and climbed in next to his brother._

_"What took you so long, Otouto? Saying goodbye to someone special?" Itachi teased with a smirk._

_Sasuke glared at him. Big brothers. They think they know everything._

_"Who?" his mother asked at the same time their father asked, "What are you wearing, Sasuke?"_

_"Oh no! I forgot to give her back her jumper!" he exclaimed, looking out the window to the shrinking theatre, as the car sped away._

_"Her?" his father raised an eyebrow._

_"Otouto's new girlfriend," Itachi announced, Cheshire cat grin on his face._

_"Nii-san!" Sasuke was mortified. "She's not my girlfriend!"_

_"Aw, how cute!" Mikoto cooed._

_"Oh no! I didn't tell her my name!" he exclaimed again._

_Everyone laughed._

_Typical Sasuke._

_"Relax, foolish little brother," Itachi ruffled his brother's hair, "you can tell your girlfriend your name when you return her jumper next time we come."_

_Sasuke pouted. The pout turned into a glare when Itachi continued._

_"But I was under the impression that it's normally the gentleman that gives his lady friend his jacket, not vice versa."_

_Great. More big words._

_"Show-off." Sasuke muttered._

_They all laughed at him again._

* * *

_**X-X-X-X-X**_

* * *

Sasuke snapped his eyes open, refusing to let the memory play out anymore. Itachi was still in the room, watching him silently. The look on his face was making Sasuke uncomfortable, so he let his attention drift back to the dusty box in his hand.

The small 'My Little Pony' jumper still sat nestled in the box. The pink had faded some, but for the most part the little garment had remained intact, the same as he remembered it…unlike its owner, Sasuke thought sombrely.

Sasuke knew he couldn't be certain on how true that was. The only way to find out for certain how much Sakura had really changed would be to talk to a certain pink-haired neighbour.

But should he? He wasn't even sure she would want to talk to him...or if she even would. Oh well, there was only one thing to be done then.

"Foolish little brother."

Sasuke started, as if he had just been snapped out of a trance. And after a quick glance around, he noted that Itachi wasn't in the room anymore. He briefly wondered why his brother had said that. Itachi rarely made that comment anymore. He only did it when Sasuke either did or was about to do something really stupid, or, well… foolish.

Giving up on trying to decipher the hidden meanings of his brother's actions, Sasuke decided to just get back to his video game, that campaign on Halo 4 wasn't going to beat itself after all.

What the raven head had failed to notice was: that due to his self-defence mechanism kicking in, he had subconsciously clamped the lid back on the box and thrown it back where he had found it…back inside the closet…where he promptly forgot he had even found it.

* * *

_**X-X-X-X-X-X**_


	4. Reacquaintancement

**Disclaimer: I don't own.**

* * *

_**I wake up in the morning, put on my face, the one that's gonna get me through another day **_**– **Naked – Avril Lavigne (PS: oh yeah. Each chapter is inspired by lyrics from different Avril Lavigne songs)

* * *

_**X-X-X-X-X-X-X**_

* * *

_**Sakura sighed, eyes closed as she reclined on the thick tree branch she had just claimed as her own, perfectly content. When she heard a frustrated huff on her right however, one green eye squinted open. **__**Sasuke was standing on the branch below the one she was lying on, but with his height, he was eye-level with her….and frowning.**_

"_**What?" she asked innocently. **_

_**Sasuke's frown deepened and she had to work to stifle her laugh.**_

"_**You know I wanted to sit there." he accused. **_

_**The branch Sakura was currently lying on was thick and huge, and grew parallel with the ground. It ran between two thick trunks, which gave it a very comfy and secure feel, because it was practically impossible to fall off of…unless you're Naruto, who had managed to fall off a record 19 times. **_

_**This particular branch also happened to be Sasuke's (According to him.)**_

"_**Oh come on, there's lots of branches up here, just find another one for yourself." Sakura said as she rolled her eyes.**_

_**His eyes narrowed. "You know I only sit on **_that_** branch."**_

_**Sakura grinned. "Yep. And I can see why. This is the most comfortable branch I've ever lain on, almost… painfully so." She added, stretching with exaggerated movements.**_

_**Sasuke wasn't amused and continued to glare silently. **_

_**Sakura groaned, rolling her eyes as she sat up. "Seriously Sasuke, you take the fun out of everything." She complained and then yawned to emphasize her point.**_

_**When he still said nothing and continued to glare at her, she sighed and held up her hands in resignation, and then scooted to the side to create space for him. Smirking triumphantly, Sasuke pulled himself up and sat next to her, leaning on one of the trunks, while Sakura leant on the other.**_

_**They sat in silence for a while, listening to the whooshing sounds of the breeze blowing through the tree, and the sounds of the different birds chirping in the trees around them. Now and then a crow could be heard in the distance. **_

"_**Hey Sasuke?" Sakura called after few more moments of silence.**_

"_**Hm?" he hummed, not opening his eyes.**_

"_**Where's Naruto? He said he'd be here."**_

_**Sasuke shrugged and said nothing. Sakura frowned and thought for a bit. And then laughed.**_

"_**What?" he asked, his eyes still shut.**_

"_**You think he went to stalk Hinata again?"**_

"_**Probably." He shrugged. "Who knows."**_

"_**You think her cousin's going to go all Bruce Lee on him when he catches him…again?"**_

"_**Bruce Lee?" Sasuke repeated, and then made an amused sound.**_

_**Sakura pouted and crossed her arms, glaring at Sasuke's peaceful face. **_

_**Him looking that serene was starting to piss her off for some reason.**_

_**He exhaled through his nose, bringing his arms up to support his head as he reclined some more to get more comfortable. As if such a thing was even possible. The breeze was blowing their hair around, but he didn't seem to mind the bangs swaying in his face. **__**And he had yet to open his eyes.**_

"_**Oi. Sasuke." She snapped, irritated.**_

_**Nothing.**_

"_**S-a-s-u-k-e." She ground out.**_

"_**What?" he snapped.**_

"_**Wake up."**_

"_**I'm not sleeping."**_

"_**Yeah. Well, you're not awake either."**_

_**He didn't respond, and she sighed in defeat, reclining back on her own trunk. But staring up through the leaves at the rays of sunlight that managed to sneak through the thick rustling branches soon grew immensely boring, naturally. And she found her eyes soon landed on Sasuke's face again.**_

_**She studied him, fingers drumming on the branch under her. There was no particular expression on his annoyingly unblemished face, his eyes were still closed and all his facial muscles were relaxed, and with a small start she realized Sasuke was completely at ease, not one ounce of tension anywhere.**_

"_**Why don't you just take a picture?" Sasuke suddenly suggested, slowly opening his eyes.**_

_**Sakura flinched. **_

_**That smug look in his eye told her he knew she had been staring. She could feel her cheeks warming, and the amusement swimming around in the ink pools Sasuke liked to call his eyes, was not really helping. **__**Sakura knew she was getting flustered when she found herself suddenly unable to make a sentence. And her stomach felt weird. Like she had just had too much green tea.**_

_**All sloshy. **_

_**Gross. **_

_**It **_had_** to be illegal for a 14 year old to be able to do that to a person with just one look.**_

"_**Are you wearing contacts?" she suddenly blurted.**_

_**When Sasuke actually **_smiled_** at her, she knew she had said the wrong thing. But then he actually chuckled, and anger won over embarrassment, her foot shot out.**_

"_**Hey, knock it off." Sasuke laughed, half-heartedly blocking her poorly aimed kicks. **_

"_**Jerk!" she yelled, aiming for his head. **_

_**Oh how she wanted to kick that smug smile off his soon-to-be-used-to-be unblemished face. Hmm, if only she could knock some teeth out too while she was at it…**_

_**When he caught her ankle in one hand, she started kicking with the other leg.**_

"_**What are you guys doing?" an amused voice asked from the left.**_

_**Letting out a cry of surprise, Sakura jumped, lost her balance and went sailing over the branch's edge, taking Sasuke, who was still holding onto her ankle, with her.**_

"_**Oops," Naruto muttered as he watched his best friends fall through the tree.**_

* * *

"OOF!"

"What the-…ow, ow, ow. Stupid, stupid." Sakura sat up, rubbing her head as she grumbled.

She got up, and then fell over again, as she had neglected to notice that her legs were still tangled in her sheets. She continued grumbling under her breath as she undid the knot. The words 'stupid', 'fell out of bed', 'what am I, four?" being the only coherent ones. When she finally managed to free her legs, she glanced at her alarm clock and groaned.

4:28 AM.

"Great." She muttered as she ran her hands through her rumpled hair. Blinking a few times, she realised that there was no way she would be falling back sleep. "Great." She repeated, blowing her bangs out of her face.

Grabbing her diary from the nightstand, and beckoned by an unknown force, she slowly got up and made her way towards one of the windows, and slowly pushed it open.

Due to what may have been an architectural error, the houses on this street had interesting second floor bedrooms. The rooms jutted out the front of the house, their floor making up the roof over the front porch. On each of the three sides of the room was a window. From afar, it looked like someone just stuck boxes to the fronts of the houses.

If she wanted, Sakura could see either Naruto's or Sasuke's room on either side of hers. _**If**_ she wanted. Which she didn't.

So she chose instead, to sit on the window sill of the window that faced the street, paying no mind to the houses that sat on either side of her.

The sun wasn't up yet and it wouldn't be up for at least another two hours or so. And as she looked up, she marveled at the sight of the stars that were still visible despite the pale glow of dawn that was just starting to show.

She took in a deep breath and slowly let it out, willing her tense limbs to relax. They were being stupidly unresponsive so far, making her frown. That dream had gotten her adrenaline running.

**Stupid dream,** she thought irritably as she flipped her diary open, abruptly stopping to glare at the last thing she had written.

An incomplete sentence.

OCD flaring, she made a mental note to make Sai pay in some way the next time she saw him. Ignoring the incomplete entry for now (with much difficulty) she smoothed down the next page and started writing.

* * *

_**Dear diary,**_

_**I just fell out of bed.**_

_**Yeah. Hilarious, I know.**_

_**So…I'm awake…at approximately 4:45 am. **__**Unwillingly of course.**_

_**I just had a stupid dream…about him.**_

_**I had already decided to just ignore him before I even came here. Too bad my brain hasn't gotten the memo yet. **_

_**I don't even know why I had that dream. **__**That was one of the worst days of my life.**_

_**It was that day Sasuke and I twisted a wrist and an ankle respectively, all thanks to Naruto's stupidity. We ended up spending the whole afternoon at the hospital. Then again, spending an afternoon in the hospital, or more specifically, the ER, had become a somewhat regular thing sometime between me turning 10 and turning 14, thanks again to Naruto's stupidity. **_

_**To this day, I have yet to figure out how Naruto managed to talk us into doing all those stupid stunts. **_

_**Anyway, hospitals, to me, have always been immensely boring. I remember the only source of entertainment we had had back then had been watching Naruto argue with Tsunade-sama. Any normal person would avoid arguing with the scary head of the hospital. Not Naruto… but then again, Naruto is not normal. **_

_**By the time his mom showed up to pick us up most days, he was usually tied to a chair in the corner of the room with his mouth taped shut.**_

_**Good times, good times.**_

_**Oh, shit. **__**I haven't gone over to say hi to Mrs Uzumaki yet. She's going to kill me.**_

_**Meh. I'll go over later today. **_

_**That aside, Monday's the first day of the school. It was probably a bad idea to travel two days before school starts, according to Maya, anyways. She was all, 'you can't travel two days before school starts' and bla bla bla. **__**Personally, I don't see what the big deal is. I have all my stuff ready, I've already been registered. So then what's the problem? Maya's answer: 'avoiding everyone won't solve anything, Sakura.'**_

_**Something you should know about my sister. When she uses your full name, know that she is in no way whatsoever…joking or kidding. When she uses MY full name, know that she's being dead serious.**_

_**Okay, so maybe I did purposefully travel yesterday (Friday, today's Saturday) to avoid people. But hey, people from around here are kind of insane, so forgive me if I don't want to deal with them. **_

_**So, anyway, as of Monday, I'm officially a senior at Konoha High School.**_

_**My plan on how to handle it? Simple.**_

_**Ignore any and every one. **_

_**Especially him.**_

_**Now if only I could actually get away with ignoring everyone. Pftt. I'll have better luck convincing Naruto that he can't consider becoming a ninja an actual career choice. **_

_**Translation: Not gonna happen.**_

* * *

_**LATER THAT DAY.**_

_Sorry you're not a winner, with the air so cold and am I so bitter, what have you got to lose, but false intentions and a life so pretentious –_

"Heeeeey. I was listening to that." Sakura complained as she sat up.

"I know." Maya sang, putting on the headphones she had just grabbed off Sakura's head. "Ew, what the heck is this? Animals being tortured?" she grimaced, removing the offending gadget.

"It happens to be one of my favourite rock bands." Sakura pouted, snatching the headphones back. "They're called Enter Shikari."

"O-kaaay…never heard of them."

"Oh come on." Sakura scoffed. "They're British."

Maya squinted, tapping a finger on her chin. "Nope. Doesn't ring a bell."

"Why am I not surprised?" Sakura sighed, moving to put on the headphones again.

"Oh no you don't." Maya grabbed them back.

"Dude, you're going to wreck my headphones." Sakura complained.

"And dude, I told you not to call me dude." Maya retorted, effecting an imitation of a deep guy voice.

"That's not funny."

"No." Maya beamed, holding the phones out of reach. "It's hilarious."

Sakura sighed and rolled her eyes, giving up on getting them back. She chose instead to go back to her previous position, which had been lying on her back on the bed, her head at the foot of the bed and her feet propped up on her pillows. Her long pink hair billowed out beneath her over the foot of the bed.

"Why don't you listen to regular boy bands, like other normal girls your age do?"

"And what, O wise one that is a wellspring of teen knowledge, would you deem normal?" Sakura asked, one eye squinting open to peer up at her sister.

"Uh…One direction?" Maya offered.

"Ew." Sakura muttered, making a face.

"What? They're British too, aren't they?"

"Unfortunately." Sakura muttered.

"Hey." Maya admonished. "There is nothing wrong with them."

"You mean other than the fact that they sing stupid nursery-rhyme like songs and are a bunch of stuck up, narcissistic idiots with horrible hair and ginormous heads?…both figuratively and literally speaking."

"Don't you dare badmouth them." Maya gasped dramatically. "They have perfect hair…especially Harry Styles."

Sakura made another face. "You mean that guy that looks like he has a squirrel's butt taped to his head?"

"HEY!"

"5 bucks says his name isn't really Harry Styles but something like Gregory Finkleburn."

Sakura got a pillow in the face for that bet.

"Not. Another. Word." Maya warned.

"Yeah, yeah. Geez, relax, I was just kidding." Sakura sighed, holding up her hands. "Can I have my headphones back now?" she pleaded, holding a hand out for them.

But Maya wasn't listening. She was too busy gaping at the room around her, having just noticed the change for the first time.

"Oh that…yeah, I finished unpacking a few hours ago." She yawned. "Looks good, huh?"

"A few hours ag…Dude! Its like 11!" Maya gaped. "And this room is like…well, it looks like you kinda went overboard with some of the redecorating and-"

Sakura smirked. "Dude, you just said dude."

"Sakura! Your bags were all still packed last night….last time I checked." Maya retorted. "And now, your closet is fully packed, your stuff is on the dresser, you have all these posters up…okay who is 'Breaking Benjamin'?..." she paused, eyeing one of the posters.

Sakura gave her an incredulous look. "You don't know who those guys are? Seriously…what do you listen to?"

"Hey."

Sakura shrugged. "I finished unpacking like an hour ago…maybe two. I kinda lose track of time when I listen to music."

Maya sighed.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I woke up a little too early, I guess."

"Sakura…" Maya started.

"I am fine." Sakura interrupted firmly. "I just slept too much on the train."

"Okay." Maya folded her arms. "Then why aren't you hanging out at Ino's or Hinata's instead of being all alone up here?"

"Because I live here and not there?"

"Don't sass me, squirt."

"I didn't want to okay." Sakura groaned. "I spent three years at an all-girls boarding school, okay? Last thing I want is to talk about the latest Mac lipstick and make-up that came out or what my 'look' is. I'll hang out with them on Monday or something."

"So you turned them down on that party too I'm guessing?"

"No duh."

Maya opened her mouth but Sakura held up a hand. "Ino's gonna throw it anyways."

"Figures." Maya laughed.

Sakura just shrugged and rolled over to lie face down on the mattress, on her stomach as she tried to ignore her sister's worried gaze.

"Okay, so you don't want to hang with the girls," She started, "what about the guys?"

"What guys?" Sakura asked, her voice muffled by the duvet.

"Oh gee, I don't know," Maya drawled sarcastically, "Naruto? Sai?"

Sakura scoffed. "Pass."

"Kiba?"

"Kiba?" Sakura repeated.

"Oh yeah, you don't know." Maya said as she plopped down on the bed next to her. "Kiba moved back here like two or three years ago for high school."

"He got kicked out of boarding school, didn't he?"

Maya laughed.

"I knew it." Sakura sighed. "Some people never change." She chuckled.

"Yeah, but some do." Maya contradicted.

Sakura's chuckle was immediately silenced.

Maya sighed again. "At least go outside for a bit?"

Sakura groaned. "I dont wannaaaaaa," she whined.

"Come on, squirt. You've been in here since yesterday. Stop being a chicken and face everyone already! You're gonna have to deal with them at some point."

"I totally agree!"

The sisters' heads snapped up at that. Naruto was standing on a branch of the oak tree that was directly outside the window on the left side of the room. he deftly jumped into the room.

"Were you spying on us?" Sakura sneered.

"Pft. No." he scoffed. Sakura raised an eyebrow, and he laughed nervously before coughing to clear his throat. "Anyway, come on, let's go."

"Go where?" Sakura asked suspiciously.

"ANYWHERE!" Maya shouted. "Please! Take her anywhere that isn't here!"

Awkward silence.

"Is it that you want me to take her outside," Naruto started, "or it's that you want the house to yourself when Iruka-onni-chan comes over later?"

"What?" Sakura asked in monotone.

"Mmmm…little bit of both?" Maya answered guiltily, blushing.

"What?" Sakura repeated.

"AHA!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing a finger at Maya. "I KNEW IT!"

"Shut up." Maya warned.

"Hello? Still here." Sakura snapped.

"Oh yeah. Maya-san and Iruka-onni-chan started dating last month."

"What?! That's awesome! And you didn't tell me?!" Sakura shrieked.

"I wanted to okay!" Maya shouted, "but there wasn't really a good time and-"

"You're joking right?" Sakura interrupted.

Maya turned to Naruto with a pleading look.

"Okay! We gotta go now! I made reservations somewhere for us to have lunch. Let's go Sakura-chan!" Naruto grabbed Sakura's arm and pulled her out the door and down the stairs.

"Naruto! Slow down!" she yelled. "I have to…wait….are we going to Ichiraku's?" she asked suspiciously.

Naruto froze, and she slammed into his back. Glaring up at him, she rubbed her bruising nose.

"Umm…maybe?"

* * *

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

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"Hey old man! Ayame-chan!" Naruto shouted immediately upon entering the restaurant. "Come out here! You are never gonna believe who came with me today!"

"Is it Hyuuga Hiashi?" an old man's voice carried from the Kitchen.

"Hey! Why would you assume I meant him?!"

"He's the only one I'd be shocked to see here."

"Yeah whatever! Just get your ass out here and come see!"

"Naruto! Language!"

"Sorry!"

Sakura laughed, turning around and surveying the place. It looked exactly the same, with the same stools and counter, the same wallpaper, it even still had the flap opening instead of a door. It hadn't changed at all, unlike the rest of Konoha. She smiled faintly, remembering the many times she had run in here for snacks with her friends.

Kiba, Lee and Naruto would be racing to see who would get in first. Shikamaru and Chouji would be pointing out various shapes in the clouds. Hinata and Ino would be walking on either side of her, their arms looped together. Off to the side, Neji and Sasuke would be in the middle of an intense glaring contest or argument and Tenten would be trying to get them to stop, making the girls laugh.

The sound of her own laughter as a kid echoed through Sakura's head. It sounded so far away. It all seemed so far away. Like a foggy, distant memory of yesteryear and not the few years that had actually passed.

"Well would you look at that!" someone suddenly exclaimed.

Sakura flinched. Turning around, she met with the beaming old face that belonged to Teuchi Ichiraku.

"Teuchi-ojji-san." She smiled.

"Sakura!" he laughed, beckoning her over with his arms. "Come! Give your grandpa a hug."

Sakura laughed and walked over into the shop owner's bear hug.

Releasing her, Teuchi gave her an once-over and grinned, "My, you've grown into quite the beautiful young lady."

Naruto's head suddenly popped up behind Sakura. "I know, right?" he grinned, waggling his eyebrows.

The grin was wiped off his face, however, when he was whacked across the back of the head. "OW!" he yelled, clutching his abused head. Turning, he came face-to-face with a glaring brown-haired girl that was tapping her foot angrily.

Naruto laughed nervously. "Oh, hey there Ayame-chan!" She continued to tap her foot and glare at him. "Great weather we're having isn't it?" he tried.

Ayame's brown eyes narrowed. "I'm going to tell Hinata-chan." She warned.

"Okaaaaay." Naruto drawled. "Tell her what?"

Ayame huffed and then stomped on his foot.

"Ayame-chan! It's been so long!" Sakura interrupted, coming to Naruto's rescue. The blonde was grumbling under his breath, clutching his abused foot.

"How have you been?" Sakura asked, giving Naruto a warning glance out of the corner of her eye.

"Busy." Ayame answered, "Seriously, the boys around here have absolutely no brains whatsoever."

Sakura laughed, walking over to hug the other girl.

* * *

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

* * *

"Remind me again, Naruto," Sakura bit out through clenched teeth, turning to face said annoying-soon-to-be-dead blonde, extremely annoyed. When she saw what Naruto was doing however, she immediately forgot what she was saying.

She stared slack-jawed, as Naruto_** sucked**_ up his bowl of ramen, not even pausing to chew or breathe.

"Remin' yuu oh waah?" He finally asked, when she remained silent, spitting out a few noodles as he attempted to speak with his mouth full.

"Never mind." Sakura glared, repulsed. "Ew."

"Oops." Naruto chuckled after swallowing. "Ne, Sakura?"

"Hmm?" she grumbled, grabbing a few napkins and throwing them at Naruto's face as she dabbed at her own face with one.

"Uh…" Naruto remained silent, wiping down his face.

Patience wearing thin, Sakura snapped. "What?"

"I know you're pretending."

To her credit, Sakura's face betrayed no surprise. "I don't know what you're talking about." She shrugged.

"Cut the act, Sakura. It's me you're talking to. I know you, remember?"

Sakura remained silent.

Naruto sighed, pushing away his empty bowl as Sakura twirled her cold noodles in her own bowl with her chopsticks.

"Ayame-chan and the old man may have bought it, but I know you, Sakura-chan. The laughing. The jokes. You've been pretending all afternoon. You didnt mean any of it."

"I thought I was the only one who noticed." A pause. "Hn. You're smarter than I thought…Dobe."

Sakura stiffened.

'**So much for wishful thinking.'** She thought dryly, as she and Naruto turned as one to face none other than Uchiha Sasuke.

* * *

_**X-X-X-X-X-X-X**_


	5. First Encounter

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you may recognize. **

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_All these years away from you, but I couldn't tell, I thought that it was gonna be just fine _**– Everything Back But You – Avril Lavigne.**

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**For Sha5aditto.**

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**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

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_**Chapter V**_

Naruto had been wondering what would happen when Sakura and Sasuke met again. Countless scenarios of them making up, and everything going back to the way it had been, had played in his head, but he knew better than to expect that one of them would actually unfold.

His eyes flicked nervously between his two best friends, unsure of how to proceed, as he fervently wished Hinata or Ino were present. They, being girls, would know what to do. Being male, he wasn't good with unexpected developments… unless they involved ramen.

Sasuke and Sakura potentially murdering each other in his home away from home could most certainly be considered an unexpected development.

He eyed them again and Sasuke, thankfully, didn't look like he was upset (bastard actually looked amused). Sakura, on the other hand, was still just sitting there quietly with a bland expression, which only served to make Naruto more nervous. He knew from personal experience that a quiet Sakura more often than not, quickly led to a very pissed off Sakura, which wasn't safe for anyone involved.

Sakura, herself, wasn't exactly pissed (yet), too preoccupied with trying to figure out what she was supposed to do now. She had resolved to just ignore his existence, but that plan was pretty much shot for the moment since he was standing right in front of her…existing and all. She wasn't angry after meeting his eyes, much to her surprise, but she wasn't ecstatic to see him either.

That pleased her immensely.

She knew she couldn't avoid him, but given the choice she'd much rather not have to see his face. She was also glad to note that her face had remained completely impassive so far, and she felt no inclination to change that.

"What are you doing here, temeh?"

Sasuke would have rolled his eyes, were he anyone else. But he was too busy being surprised. Sakura was being indifferent? hmm. Interesting.

"I _can_ go anywhere I want, Dobe." he answered when Naruto's question registered.

"Yeah, but you hate ramen." The blonde pointed out. "So then, why are you _here_?"

Sakura had yet to say anything since the Uchiha had arrived, but Naruto figured that was probably a good thing.

"Not that I need to explain myself to you, but Itachi and his squad came home for lunch and they wanted miso ramen," Sasuke was explaining, "and apparently, according to Itachi, they only eat Ichiraku ramen."

"Since when?" Naruto asked, genuinely puzzled.

He had neither seen the older Uchiha at Ichiraku's nor eating ramen for that matter. Come to think of it, he'd never seen any Uchiha enjoying a good bowl of ramen. What... did all Uchiha hate ramen or something?

"Since today, I suppose." Sasuke answered, his monotonous voice cutting into Naruto's random thought process.

The blonde then noticed that he was giving Sakura a pointed look. She visibly bristled when she noticed it too. What… If she didn't know any better, it was almost as if he…

"Why're you looking at me like it's my fault?" she snapped.

Well, it actually was her fault, in Sasuke's opinion.

He didn't know how Itachi had known that Sakura would be at Ichiraku's, but then his brother seemed to know a lot of things he shouldn't, so really, he shouldn't have been surprised to find Sakura there when Itachi was the one who'd sent him.

His brother was obviously trying to mess with him – again – by purposefully sending him where she was. He should have just said no, and had it been any other day, Sasuke wouldn't have had any qualms with refusing to do anything his annoying brother asked him to, but Mr. Ibiki, Itachi's superior and squad leader, could be a little scary when things didn't go his way. Plus…those scars of his were just…ew.

So basically, yes, it was Sakura's fault Itachi had sent him here, but he wasn't about to explain all that to her, so he said the next best thing.

"Hn."

"Your brother sent you here to get lunch for him and his work buddies…and so… it's my fault?" she asked, stunned and wanting clarification.

Sasuke didn't answer. Ah, there, all clarified.

Sakura's jade eyes narrowed in irritation and Naruto sighed in exasperation as he wondered if besides hating ramen, Uchihas were also suicidal.

"How could it possibly be my fault?!" She exploded.

If the way every cell in her body was screaming at her to just punch the blandness off his face, was any indication, Sakura was pretty sure she was pissed… now. But then all things considered, she felt justified in her anger. How dare he -after everything- stand there and actually blame her for something that she knew nothing about?

Sakura liked to think she was a reasonable person, unless you pushed her buttons and ticked her off, then you'd probably end up decked. Because of her mean right hook, people opted_** not **_to piss her off. But then again…Sasuke Uchiha _**wasn't **_most people, apparently.

And so being the reasonable person she was, Sakura turned around and calmly picked up her green tea and shook it, removing the cap and straw. She then stood up and slowly emptied the cup over Sasuke's head.

Sasuke stiffened as the warm – thank God it wasn't hot – liquid ran through his hair and slowly trickled out of the roots of his hair to run down his face and neck and soak his shirt.

His **_white_** shirt

His white shirt that was now **_stained_**.

Probably forever.

To say he was shocked would be an understatement. He was stunned. He was stupefied. He was…

"What are you doing?" he growled when he finally remembered how to work his voice.

"Giving you something to blame me for," she responded simply as she shook the last of the tea out of the cup, "that I actually _**did do**_." She added, smiling and batting her lashes once.

Ayame returned then with Sasuke's order in one hand and a fresh cup of green tea in the other.

"Oh my, what happened here?" she asked with way too much fake curiosity.

"Oh, I just spilled my tea. It was totally not an accident. No one's hurt though, don't worry." Sakura smiled. _Besides, Sasuke's pride,_ she added mentally.

"What a waste." Ayame frowned, and then she perked up almost instantly. "Well then, I guess it's a good thing I brought you a fresh cup anyways." She chirped as she handed Sakura the fresh cup.

"Oh thanks, Ayame-chan." Sakura smiled as she accepted it. "Naruto and I are leaving now. Kushina-san will kill me if I don't go over today."

Ayame laughed good-naturedly. "Oh yeah. Well, come back soon, okay? We have to catch up!"

Sasuke's eye twitched and one of his fingers spasm-ed. Was that supposed to have been coincidental? Naruto's not so inconspicuous snickering wasn't helping.

"Sure thing! Let's go, Naruto," Sakura grabbed Naruto and started pulling him out of the restaurant, paying no mind to the waves of irritation rolling off the Uchiha. "Later Aya, tell Teuchi-ojji-san I said bye, okay?" She called with one last wave before she and the blonde disappeared behind the flap.

Ayame chuckled as she waved at them.

"Ahem." Sasuke snapped.

"Oh right, you're still here." Ayame's eyes narrowed. "Here's your order." she intoned, voice bored, as she dropped the bags on the counter, ignoring the death glare being sent her way.

* * *

X-X-X-X-X-X

* * *

"Man, I'm starrrrrving, where's the food!"

"Shut up, Genma," an irritated Raidou snapped.

"Maybe we shouldn't have sent Sasuke to get our lunch," Kotetsu commented.

"I told you guys, but nooo… no one ever listens to me," Shisui interjected.

"ALL OF YOU SHUT UP!" Ibiki snapped.

All was immediately silent.

Itachi resisted the urge to chuckle as he looked at the sullen faces of his squad mates.

Genma Shiranui, Raidou Namiashi, Kotetsu Hagane and his best friend Shisui.

They were what could be considered a very bad match up of extremely incompatible people, but when the situation demanded it, they worked as well as a well-oiled machine and were one of the best squads down at the police station.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, Itachi began to wonder just what his foolish little brother was doing. He'd probably run into her by now, he mused.

Just then, the front door slammed open and a soggy Sasuke walked in, as if summoned by his brother's thoughts. Itachi watched amusedly, as his squad mates started snickering at Sasuke's appearance.

"What happened to you?" Genma snorted, the toothpick in his mouth somehow managing not to fall out as he laughed.

"Just take your stupid lunch." Sasuke snapped.

"Aww, did poor widle Sasu-chan fall in a puddle?" Genma teased, making the other officers snort with laughter.

"Take your food or its going in the garbage." Sasuke practically snarled.

"Alright, alright, geez," Genma grabbed the bags and Sasuke immediately stomped up the stairs, his bedroom door slamming shut moments later.

"Oh man, this stuff is cold," Genma whined when he opened the pack.

"Just put it in the microwave," Raidou snapped.

"Oi, Itachi, what's with the brat?" Ibiki asked as he dug into his cold noodles, ignoring the disgusted looks on the other officers.

"Yeah, maybe you should go check on him," Shisui added as he followed the others to the kitchen to make sure Genma didn't burn the house down.

Itachi shook his head. "Otouto is just going through a normal pubescent adolescent phase. I'm sure he'll be fine by dinner."

"A what?" Genma's confused voice carried from the kitchen.

Itachi rolled his eyes.

"Girl problems," Shisui elaborated.

"Ohhhhhhh."

Itachi reached for his noodles, musing silently. He knew that his brother hadn't fallen in any puddle. The moisture dripping from his hair and onto his shirt had been green. It's either he fell into a sewer or…

Itachi smirked.

He hadn't thought she'd go so far as to dump tea on him…again.

* * *

X-X-X-X-X-X

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_**Saturday, June 8, 2013, my room. 10:56 PM.**_

_**Dear diary,**_

_**I, much to my delight, had fun at the loudmouth blonde's house today. It was a welcome distraction, and I had been meaning to go over to say hello to his parents anyways.**_

_**Minato and Kushina Uzumaki are still the same as I remembered them. Naruto's mom is still like Naruto, only female and older….and not a clumsy idiot. His dad is still the calm and collected one of the family. **_

_**When they'd seen me at their doorstep, Kushina-san had immediately crushed me in a hug (I swear her hugs hurt more than Sis') cheering excitedly about how much she'd missed me and how pretty and big I'd gotten as Minato-san tried to calm her down. She had retaliated by saying it was his fault they didn't have a daughter so I had to suffice as a replacement.**_

_**How it was his fault, I wondered, but I decided I'd rather not know.**_

_**After Kushina-san had calmed down -as much as she could anyway, which wasn't much- we had sat down to chat and catch up, she broke out the photo albums, laughing hysterically at the goofy pictures with me while Naruto cringed and wailed about how embarrassing it all was. I knew he wasn't really whining though, too happy I was actually laughing for real.**_

_**For a blonde, Naruto really isn't as dumb as he lets people think he is. **_

_**After the photos, we'd sat down to enjoy the most delicious dinner I've had in ages, and dessert was even more delicious. Best sponge cake EVER. Naruto's dad is the awesomest cook ever. Seriously, my taste buds are like, still having a party in my mouth. **_

_**Okay scratch that, it sounded too disturbing. **_

_**I honestly don't remember the last time I'd had so much fun in my life, or the last time I'd laughed so much. I'm glad I went over to Naruto's today. Naruto said he was glad too when I told him. **_

_**He just left actually, his mom made him escort me home, convinced that someone could attack me…as I crossed the lawn to get to my door. *insert eye roll* I know Kushina-san is a mom so she can't help but worry, but hello, the door is what, 50 feet from theirs?**_

_**Anyway, fun with the Uzumakis aside, I actually ran into what's-his-face today. (FYI: because writing Sasuke's name in here tarnishes my journal, he shall be called what's-his-face from now on.)**_

_**So I was at Ichiraku's with Naruto right, trying to not to gag (Naruto's table manners are still hovering between extremely bad to non-existent) and then what's-his-face shows up and is being all, 'hey I'm smart and you're dumb and such a pretender haha look at me, I'm so smart.'**_

_**Okay, so maybe he wasn't saying exactly that.**_

_**But the jerk actually had the gall to blame me for something I didn't do. YEAH AGAIN, I KNOW.**_

_**His brother (Oh right, I haven't said hi to Itachi-san yet. Okay noted) Sends him to get his lunch so it was obviously my fault. And people say he's a genius?**_

_**So I did what anyone in my shoes would…I totally dumped my tea on him. It was awesome.**_

_**Ha, you should have seen his face. Priceless. I'm guessing he didn't think I would actually dump my tea on him. **_

_**Well I did. He deserved it and worse.**_

_**Hmm, I wonder what he'd have done if it was like, really hot…**_

* * *

X-X-X-X-X-X

* * *

Sunday passed without incident. Sakura spent the morning shopping for stationery, a new schoolbag, and a few toiletries with Maya. On her insistence of course since Sakura wasn't exactly a fan of shopping.

After a light lunch at the mall's food court, Maya had gone home with the bags and Sakura had gone to Ino's place to chill with the blonde and Hinata…again, on Maya's insistence.

She'd found Ino with Hinata in the blonde's room alone and the girls had spent the afternoon catching up and getting Sakura up to speed on what she'd missed in Konoha over her two year absence, which turned out to be a lot. For a small suburb, a lot of things sure happened in Konoha.

Sakura, to her surprise, found that she actually had fun with the girls. Hinata was always pleasant to be around, but Ino wasn't nearly half as annoying as she usually was. She didn't even pester her into spilling any juicy gossip she had…that was a good thing, considering she had none, if you ignored the 'spilling-her-tea-on-what's-his-face's head' incident.

Which she was, no way was she telling _**Ino**_ about that.

The pleasant afternoon made Sakura a tiny bit more optimistic about her stay in Kyoto's tiniest suburb.

But the next day, Monday marked the beginning of the most annoying week ever.

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X-X-X-X-X-X


	6. Fun in Social Studies

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

_**You're so full of it, I can't stand, the way you act, I just can't comprehend**_** – I can do better – Avril Lavigne.**

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X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

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Early Monday morning found Sakura sighing before she downed the last of her juice, as she tried to ignore the cacophony of noise coming from the driveway outside. The cacophony happened to be a mix of Naruto yelling her name and for her to hurry up, a horn being honked repeatedly, and a familiar voice yelling for him to shut up.

Just as Sakura was placing her washed breakfast dishes on the drying rack, a groggy-eyed Maya with a rat's nest for hair, descended the stairs.

"Is that Naruto outside? I'm going to kill him," she growled as she sank into the chair Sakura had just vacated, immediately slumping over to rest her cheek on the kitchen table. "But first I need-"

She stopped talking when Sakura placed a brewing hot cup of coffee in front of her.

"Aww, thanks squirt," she smiled thankfully at her and grabbed the mug.

"No prob." Sakura sent her sister a pitying glance. She couldn't function properly without her daily dose of caffeine. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to kill the idiot responsible for waking you up so early," she called over her shoulder as she grabbed her backpack from the couch and headed for the front door.

"Thanks," came the grumbled reply. "Oh, cute outfit by the way."

"Later." Sakura rolled her eyes as she yanked the door open and stepped out, pulling it closed behind her to frown at the sight in front of her.

Naruto was wrestling with some other teen on the lawn. Well, at least there wasn't any more horn honking. But the boys were still yelling at the top of their lungs, and hadn't noticed her exit the house yet.

"Naruto!"

Naruto, who'd been caught in a headlock, landed on the grass with a loud 'oof!' as the person he'd been wrestling abruptly dropped him just as Sakura walked down the porch steps.

Judging from the leather jacket and the messy, wild brown hair, and pointy canines currently bared in a grin at her, Sakura assumed she was looking at Inuzuka Kiba…but then again, she figured she could be wrong.

"Well, well, it's been a while, Haruno!" he whistled. "Did ya miss me?" he waggled his eyebrows.

Yup. Definitely the Inuzuka.

Even though she knew Kiba wasn't seriously flirting, Sakura rolled her eyes at him.

Naruto shot up, rubbing grass off his orange tee. "Ignore him, Sakura. Kiba here, has slowly morphed into a horrendous playboy over the years." He opened the truck's door and jumped in.

Kiba shrugged unrepentantly and walked around to jump into the driver's seat.

"We figured you might want a ride to school instead of waiting for the bus." Naruto said as he scooted to the middle of the seat to leave room for her.

"Uh, yeah. Thanks." She hopped in and closed the door just as Kiba started the truck. "Oh, and just so you know, Maya's going to kill you for waking her up before eight."

She grinned when Naruto paled.

* * *

X-X-X-X-X-X

* * *

The three teens met up with Sai, Ino and Hinata in the school parking lot, exchanging morning greetings as they made their way to the auditorium for First Day Assembly. Class schedules were picked up after the assembly, and as he always did, Naruto immediately started whining about having Math first thing Monday morning.

"Well, thanks to the assembly, we don't have to learn it today," Hinata chuckled as she patted his arm consolingly. "Oh look here, we have Chemistry later today too." she offered, trying to cheer him up, since he liked the subject.

"We sure do." Naruto grinned.

Hinata blushed at the innuendo while Kiba started making gagging noises as he complained about the 'yuck-fest' he was being forced to witness. When she'd decided he'd gagged enough, Ino took a moment to glance up from her phone's screen long enough to cuff him upside the head.

"Considering you already have a hard enough time learning on your own, I think it's best if Hinata isn't around to distract you," Kiba teased as he rubbed the sore spot that had just been smacked.

Naruto glared. "Who asked for your opinion, dog-breath?"

Sakura resisted the urge to facepalm, while Sai simply shook his head. "We should get to class before the warning bell rings," he suggested.

"What are we having right now?" Ino asked airily, attention solely on the smartphone in her hands.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "You could just check your schedule you know, we did get individual ones."

"Can't. Texting." Ino replied absently, tapping away furiously.

"Who is she even texting this early?" Naruto asked.

"Probably one of her squad members." Sai guessed.

"Ever heard of rhetorica-"

"We have Social Studies," Sakura cut in, "with…Mr Ebisu." She squinted at the paper.

Naruto groaned. "Boooring."

"Let's just go before we're late," Sakura snapped.

* * *

X-X-X-X-X-X

* * *

They made it to the classroom just as the warning bell went off. Upon arrival, Sakura immediately made a beeline for the window seat at the front, opening it after dumping her bag on the desk. Kiba sank down next to her, Sai and Ino sat behind them, while Naruto and Hinata sat next to each other in the front seats in the next aisle.

The teacher walked in a few minutes later, greeting them all stiffly as he set his case down on his desk at the front. After the students mumbled a response, he gave each student in the front seat of every row, a thick wad of sheets with instructions to get one each and pass the sheaf on to the person behind them.

"That is our lesson plan for the year," he explained, "I expect the extra copies to be given back to me."

After everyone had gotten a copy and the left over copies were aligned with military precision on his desk, Ebisu pushed his glasses up his nose and began the lesson.

"First on the plan, you will see that we shall start with the Family Unit, and its purpose in society. If you were in my class last year, you should already know that I expect four volunteers each class to come up to the front and share with us their own thoughts on the topic at hand."

Sakura figured that made sense, the subject was _**Social**_ Studies after all.

"The Family is the basic unit of society, as society as a whole is made up of families; much like the human body is made up of all the different limbs." He explained, taking out a marker to jot down important points on the board. "But before any family can be made, it all starts with two people and the important concept that is Marriage." He paused, turning to write the word in huge letters on the board.

A derisive snort was heard in the classroom.

"Care to share your thoughts on marriage with the rest of the class, Uchiha?" Ebisu asked as he turned back around.

"No."

"Looks like we have our first volunteer," Ebisu calmly replaced the cap on his marker. "Get up here, Uchiha." He added in warning when said raven remained in his seat.

Sakura watched, along with the rest of the class as Sasuke slowly got up from his seat and made his way to the front at a snail's pace. Probably just to irk Ebisu. Sakura raised one lone eyebrow at the excited whispers from some of the girls in the class, mostly along the lines of 'Omg he's such a rebel', 'he's so hot'.

_**Gag**_, Sakura thought with disgust. It appeared the Uchiha still had a fan club.

Naruto started snickering at the annoyed scowl on Sasuke's face.

"Uzumaki, thank you for volunteering."

"What?! But I-"

Naruto shut his mouth at the warning glare, frowning and muttering under his breath as he begrudgingly got up from his seat. At the irritated scowl on the blonde's face, Kiba tried to muffle his own snickers but Ebisu apparently had 20-20 hearing.

"Inuzuka. Front of the class."

_**Idiots**_, Sakura thought as she watched Kiba slowly trudge forward to the front.

"We still need one more volunteer." Ebisu scanned the room, and Sakura secretly hoped he didn't pick her. She planned to be as low key as possible, if possible maybe even finish the whole school year unnoticed… but of course, as usual, the universe wasn't on her side.

"Ah, Miss Haruno. Come up, if you please." he said cheerily when he spotted her. "This should be a nice way for you to learn how class is conducted."

Sakura winced. "Wouldn't I learn better if someone else came up and I watched?"

"No no, experience is the best teacher." He said in what Sakura assumed he thought was a wise tone. "Plus, this way we have a representative for the other gender. A female perspective is most imperative."

Giving up, Sakura got up and slowly made her way to the front, but only because she figured arguing with a teacher on the first day would blow the whole 'being low key' plan.

"Ah, let us continue the lesson now that we have our volunteers." Ebisu clapped. "Open your textbooks to page 7."

Sakura scowled as the sound of rustling paper filled the room. _**Volunteers my ass**_, she thought irritably.

"Marriage is an important tradition all over the world. Commonly in most cultures, a man and a woman must marry before they can start a family, although that isn't always the case in a select few. Some people often opt to just cohabit and still have children without marrying. Considering the recent spike in the number of marriages that end in divorce, some would argue that it is better to not marry at all and just cohabit. What do you think?"

Ebisu stopped reading and lowered his textbook to gesture at the four teens in front of him. "Let's hear what you four have to say first before the question is turned over to the rest of the class. Inuzuka, you're up first."

Kiba shrugged. "I don't think it matters, really. I see no difference between people cohabiting and people that are married. You're still living together and doing everything married folks do, so I guess it all depends on the person and what they want."

"Yes," Ebisu drawled with exaggerated patience, "and the question was directed at you Inuzuka. What do _**you**_ think?"

"I just said I don't think it matters either way!"

Ebisu scowled at the indignant tone for a few seconds, but only let out a tired sigh and shook his head. "Uzumaki, your turn."

"I dunno," Naruto scratched the back of his head. "I guess… marriage is important to me. I mean, when I look at my parents, they seem happy and I think even after all these years they still love each other and stuff. I don't think they'd ever get a divorce-"

"I'm sure that's what all divorcees used to think too before they signed their papers." Sasuke muttered.

"Wait for your turn to speak, Uchiha." Ebisu warned. "Continue, Uzumaki."

"Yeah," Naruto nodded. "I think I'd want to marry before I have kids. I'd want a marriage like my parents, where you accept each other for who you are. I doubt you'd divorce someone you know and love that much. So… I guess I'm just traditional like that."

Sakura's eyebrows shot up. Who knew Naruto was that sentimental about nuptials? It appeared the other girls in the class shared her sentiments, as some cooed. Whispers of 'Aww that was shockingly sweet', 'Aww, who knew that knucklehead, actually had lights on upstairs' and even a few 'Aww, Hinata is so lucky'. Said girl was currently very red in the face.

Kiba rolled his eyes and snorted when Naruto grinned.

"Okay, Uchiha, you're next."

"I have nothing to say about what I consider the only legal form of slavery."

Most of the males in the classes started laughing while the girls let out all kinds of cries, the more common ones being somewhere along the lines of 'I can change your view on marriage, Sasuke! Marry me!'

Sakura was appalled at how pathetic it all was, torn between wanting to puke or laughing out loud…or both.

"Quiet!" Ebisu snapped, silencing them all. "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Uchiha, you may continue."

"It's simple. I don't believe in marriage, it's pointless. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Oh how refreshing, a guy that doesn't believe in marriage. Not."

Sakura stiffened when an eerie silence settled over the classroom. Oops. She hadn't meant to say that out loud.

"Sorry," she smiled sheepishly, "I didn't mean to interrupt, I just don't agree with him, that's all. As you said, everyone is entitled to their own opini-"

"Care to share why you disagree with him, Miss Haruno?" Ebisu cut in.

Sakura bit her tongue as she inhaled, trying to ignore the looks of keen interest on the other students' faces. What were they expecting exactly? She'd bet anything they were never that excited in this class. She had to tread carefully here.

"Well…I'll admit that marriage isn't exactly easy. But…Like all things good and important, you have to work hard on it to make it work…" she trailed off when Sasuke snorted again. Bristling, she clenched her teeth when he smirked. "Cynicism on the other hand is always easy." She added stiffly.

"How childish." Sasuke scoffed. "Marriage is like all things fairy-tale that you girls want and dream of having." Sakura's eye twitched and Sasuke's smirk turned smug, "I don't believe in it, and I don't believe in the tooth fairy either because it's not real…like a 'good marriage'."

"So basically, you think ALL marriages will eventually end in divorce?"

"Basically."

"That's ridiculous!"

Everyone's gaze flickered nervously between the two, starting to get uneasy as Sakura's voice increased in volume, but neither heeded Ebisu's warnings, ignoring him completely.

"I'm just pointing out the hypocrisy of this so called tradition that's in reality, just a fucked up notion that the markets and businesses use to exploit narrow minded retards like yo-"

"Oh how noble of you! Do you also go around telling kids that Santa Claus doesn't exist? Because somebody needs to blow that shit wide open-"

"Aha. So you admit believing in marriage is like believing in Santa?" Sasuke cut in.

Already enraged, just like that, Sakura saw red. There was a resounding smack and then a uniform gasp from the students closely followed by a deathly silence descending over the stunned classroom.

Dumbfounded, Sasuke's hand came up, a finger experimentally poking at his cheek, which was rapidly turning an angry shade of red. He obviously couldn't comprehend what had just happened.

"HARUNO! UCHIHA! TO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE! NOW!" Ebisu's enraged yell startled the two teens, who had seemingly forgotten that they had an audience. "Such vulgar language is unacceptable in my class!"

And so, Sakura found herself sent to the principal's office on the first day of school, while enraged 'death threats' from Sasuke's 'fans' echoed down the hallways from the classroom.

* * *

X-x-X-x-X-x-X

* * *

Hiruzen Sarutobi reminded Sakura of her own grandfather. After the initial anger wore off, Sakura sat through what felt like a very long grandfatherly lecture from the school's elderly principal. Although in reality, it probably took no more than fifteen minutes.

_Crippling shame and embarrassment _can_ throw one's time consciousness out of whack_, she mused.

"I don't usually have offenders in my office this early on the first day of the semester," he commented, leaning back in his swivel chair to regard them thoughtfully. "And a new student and a first offender too. You two are off to an auspicious start."

"I'm sorry, Mr Sarutobi," she apologised, offering the elderly principal a small bashful smile. "I guess I got a little carried away."

"I'd say it was more than just a little, wouldn't you Sasuke?" he chuckled mirthfully.

Sakura chanced a glance at him, and felt a stab of guilt when she saw how red and slightly swollen his cheek had become.

"Are you sure you don't want any ice for that?" the principal asked.

"Yes." Sasuke snapped bitterly. "I'm quite sure."

All guilt vanished as a wave of irritation washed over Sakura. _**Chauvinist,**_ she thought bitterly as she scowled, slumping back in her seat. Now, she was even more intent on ignoring the Uchiha for the rest of her life, regardless of how ridiculous that plan sounded even to her own ears.

"Normally, I'd let you return to class with only a warning, but someone got hit, so I'm afraid I'll have to call in your parents or guardians. Numbers?"

* * *

X-x-X-x-X

* * *

_**Monday, 10**__**th**__** June, 2013. Outside the principal's office, 12:09 PM.**_

_**Dear diary or journal or whatever,**_

_**Sorry, I'm a little ticked off right now.**_

_**So, I got sent to the principal's office, after one class. ONE FREAKING CLASS. And it wasn't even a full class. I was in there like what? 10 to 12 minutes maybe? **_

_**And whose fault was it? What's-his-face!**_

_**Thanks to him, my 'KIDL (keep it down low)' plan is pretty much shot now. (All my plans seem to get shot whenever he comes up, right?)**_

_**So, I'm stuck here, waiting for Sis to come. Hmm, she's working an afternoon shift this week, so I guess I'm stuck here till at least one. She'll probably try to get here as slow as possible, just to punish me. Judging by the time, we've been waiting for about an hour and 47 minutes. What's-his-face's brother hasn't shown up yet either.**_

_**I've been so bored, at one point I actually talked to him.**_

_**Here is an excerpt of what may or may not have been a conversation:**_

**Me: This is all your fault, you know.**

**WHF: Right, I slapped myself and got us sent to the principal's office.**

_**Hmm, a sentence each. Must be some kind of record.**_

_**I probably would have shot back some kind of snotty retort, but I was too busy enjoying the satisfaction of hearing him say I slapped him. Which I did. **_

_**Ha, I slapped what's-his-face! HIGH FIVE!**_

_**Oh right, you're a book. **_

_**BTW, what's-his-face has quite the legion of adoring psycho fans. **_

_**They're actually after my blood for marring the perfect love of their lives' face, or something like that, didn't quite hear their threats clearly. I think the steam that had been coming out of my ears as I stomped out of the class kinda messed with my hearing. **_

_**Yawn. Yet another reason why, thanks to what's-his-face, my KIDL plan has officially been flushed down the toilet and is now swirling in Konoha High's sewage pipes. **_

_**EW.**_

* * *

X-x-X-x-X

* * *

By the time Maya and Itachi arrived, the principal had already left for lunch about half an hour earlier, the secretary following soon after, leaving cryptic instructions. And by cryptic instructions, she meant '_Don't even think about going anywhere until your guardians show up._' That, in Sakura's opinion had been very stupid, since they could easily leave earlier and she wouldn't be the wiser. But of course, since home was at least a couple miles away, neither teen felt inclined to leave without a ride.

"Sasu-chan got hit by a girl! Sasu-chan got hit by a girl!"

Sakura's head shot up at the sound of the immature taunting. She saw a bunch of men she didn't recognize walking up to them and was only vaguely aware of Sasuke groaning beside her as she tried to figure out where she'd seen the white haired man before.

"Shisui-san!"

He looked as surprised as she felt at having recognized him. They exchanged greetings while Sasuke got smooshed under Genma's arm as he received what looked like a very painful nugie. Sakura would have laughed, but she spotted Itachi and her sister walking up to them…laughing.

"What took you so long?" she demanded when they were in earshot.

"Did you have to bring_** them**_ along with you?" Sasuke demanded at the same time, pointing at Genma and the others.

Maya and Itachi gave them both a blank stare.

"Yes." Itachi answered simply.

"I was at work!" Maya snapped, gesturing at the nurse's uniform she was wearing. "Or did you forget I was working an afternoon shift today? Because of you, I had to drive here all the way from the hospital after I'd just gotten there! Do you know how killer traffic is around lunchtime?"

"Oh….right. um...sorry?"

"Aw, poor widle Sasu-chan, does your cheek hurt? You want Maya-san to look at it for you? She'll give you a lollipop if you're a good widdle boy," Genma teased as he poked at the bruised cheek.

"Stop that!" Sasuke snapped, slapping the offending appendage away. "And she's a nurse, not a dentist, idiot."

"Oh yeah." Genma blinked, and then started laughing again as he remembered something very important. "Dude, you got beat by a girl!"

Raidou and Kotetsu joined Genma, erupting into fits of laughter as they leaned on each other for support.

"Wow, you really did a number on him," Shisui commented peering at Sasuke's face. He sweatdropped when Genma started doing a weird taunting dance as he sang 'Sasu-chan got hit by a girl' over and over.

"Maybe we should consider recruiting you down at the station."

Sakura let out a nervous laugh. "As much fun as this is, we have to go, she has to go back to work and all," she flashed them a smile as she grabbed Maya's arm.

Maya rolled her eyes when Sakura started dragging her away, muttering a quick apology to Itachi, which he waved away, much to Sasuke's irritation.

As she and Maya rounded the corner, Sakura couldn't help the satisfied smirk that appeared as she watched Sasuke snatch away the ice Itachi offered him to gingerly place it over his cheek.

* * *

X-x-X-x-X-x-X


	7. Of Lunch, Birthdays and Chemistry

_**IMPORTANT: To all readers of Chelty-chan's stories, YW12 here. Um, Chelty won't be around for a few weeks so her stories will be on hold for a while, 3 weeks max I think. She left a few chapters with me though, so I expect some of her stories I'll be able to update for her. That is all.**_

_**Sorry this is two days late, but its EXTRA long to make up for it.**_

Disclaimer: I don't own squat.

* * *

Gimme what I want, everything I don't got, gimme what I want, cos I'm a big shot, so give me what I want, I always get what I want, you don't wanna see me when I don't get what I want, it's not what you want – I always get what I want – Avril Lavigne

* * *

X-x-X-x-X-x-X

* * *

**Tuesday, June 11****th**** 2013. In The Lunch Line. Cafeteria.**

_**Watsup D.**_

_**So….turns out everyone in class has already forgotten about the 'incident' during S.S yesterday, and most of the school didn't even hear about it. Guess my KIDL plan survives and is still on.**_

_**Ha. **_

_**NOT. **_

_**Everyone knows about it, some teachers *cough Ebisu cough* kind of don't like me very much because of it (apparently they think I'm a…troublemaker? *eye roll*) …aaaaand what's-his-face's 'fan club' is still out for my blood.**_

_**BUT on the bright side… that last one I'm not that concerned about. Not just because I can handle it, but considering they are more worried about what's-his-face's err…face, they haven't really been paying me much mind. Watching them annoy him with offers of ice and nursing really is way more entertaining than it really should be.**_

_**Anyway, here's a rundown of my day so far:**_

_**Naruto and Kiba picked me up today too, and we made it to school just before the warning bell went off (Long story short: Naruto woke Maya…again. It wasn't pretty). We were so rushed I forgot to get my locker assignment before class, but no biggie. I'll just get it after lunch.**_

_**Turns out we rushed for nothing though, because we had English first, and Mr Hatake is always late. English was for the most part uneventful, if you ignored the heated hate looks being shot my way…which I did.**_

_**Next period was Drawing II for me. Naruto, Ino and Kiba had drama, but at least Sai and Hinata were there. That was a good thing because what's-his-face was, apparently, also in this class. This I found shocking, I mean since when does he draw?**_

_**Pondering that was impossible though cause our teacher is for lack of a better word…INSANE.**_

_**Miss Mitarashi or Anko as she 'insisted' we call her. And by insist I mean traumatize. She said she's not old and calling her by her last name made her feel old. Anyone who didn't call her by her first name would have their fingers fed to her pet snake. I thought she was joking…until she pulled the thing out. I was, apparently, the only one who found this even remotely disturbing, since everyone else was all…yeah, cool, a snake…whatever man. (I could have worded that better.)**_

_**Apart from that, DII was alright, mostly because there's only like 10 of us taking this elective and none of them are fans of he who shall not be named. (Hehe Voldemort. Snort.) I think their fear of the snake lady was stronger than their love or as I like to think…pathetic infatuation. I mean hello? Who really falls in love at 17?**_

_**So, after she'd decided she'd traumatized enough, Anko tells us all to pair up as she announces that she wants all vacation assignments on her desk next week. I immediately went for Sai, I mean, Hinata's cool and all, but I think Sai was a better option in a drawing class. (especially since I kind of suck.)**_

_**So, Voldemort (I think I'll start using that now instead of what's-his-face…less of a hassle to write) isn't very popular in this class considering everyone else immediately chose each other until only he and Hinata remained. I guess she felt sorry for him (that girl really is too nice for her own good) cos she went over and was all 'would you like to be partners…er, Uchiha-san?'. Insert snobbish consent-like grunt from Voldemort here.**_

_**So, the class exercise was still-life. Paint a bowl of lemons. Lame.**_

_**I got bored after the first 40 minutes so I decided to bug Sai for fun, which quickly turned out to be a bad idea. Here's how the note conversation we had went:**_

**Me: Yo.**

**Sai: Passing notes in class is against the rules. Hello.**

**M: Rules schmules. I'm bored.**

**S: …schmules? What are schmules?**

**M: They don't exist. **

**S: Oh.**

**M: Yeah. So anyway, why did you sign up for this class, doesn't Miss Hebi scare you?**

**S: Miss Hebi? hmm… Hebi… Pseudo Japanese for 'snake'. I'm impressed. PS: Very few things scare me.**

**M: Yeah, playing trivia and memorization are hobbies, so I remember that from a trick question. That and we do live in Japan, even if we use English. But props accepted. PS: Nice. Hmm, you sure though? Have you seen Hannibal?**

**S: Trivia, eh? You continue to surprise me, Haruno. I prefer calligraphy and drawing for hobbies, myself. PS: yes, I have seen Hannibal. Not scary.**

**M: okay, explains why you're in this class. PS: I have no idea why I just told you what my hobbies are. **

**S: hmm, on the train, you also had no idea why you were talking to me. I detect a pattern here.**

**M: Har har. Funny. Hmm…but it is odd. You're just easy to talk to, I guess.**

**S: You're the first to think that, apart from Ino. But thanks.**

_**I was in the middle of writing a response when Anko's shadow fell across my paper. She was all "Interesting lemons you're drawing there, Haruno," and I was all, "Yep". She didn't think it was funny though, since she proceeded to tell me that my drawing sucked. **_

_**That sucked. **_

_**I swear I heard Voldemort snort. (Is it just me or does the real Volde come to mind when I mention the name? okay switching to SU now. Or STFU maybe, since he should learn to STFU.)**_

_**So, Sai, who so unfortunately happened to be the one standing next to me with an excellent drawing, has been assigned as my tutor. That is unfair. I mean, don't I get at least like three strikes or something before she decides I suck so much I can't possibly improve without help?**_

_**Apparently not. Cos I got a tutor. All complaints died however, when she said if I didn't want Sai to be my tutor she'd give me SU, who apparently is the best student she has besides Sai. Pssh, yeah right, like I wanna be tutored by …**_**that**_**.**_

_**Okay this is officially my longest entry yet, I think I've written enough for now.**_

_**PS: This lunch line is taking forever! At this rate, they'll be out of Shiratama Anmitsu by the time I get to the front, and it's my favorite type of fruit salad!**_

* * *

_** X-x-X-x-X-x-X**_

* * *

Across the cafeteria, Ino, Sai, Hinata and Naruto sat around a table watching Sakura hop anxiously from foot to foot in line.

"Is it just me or does Sakura look kinda happy today?" Naruto commented.

"Un." Hinata agreed. "Maybe it's-"

"No." Ino interrupted. "They're serving _**Shiratama Anmitsu **_today. Its Sakura's favorite. _That's _why she's excited."

"Ohhh." Naruto shoved a few fries into his mouth, chewing silently for a few moments. "What's the last class today?" he asked absently.

"We have Chemistry." Hinata answered.

"We sure- OW!"

Ino sighed as she flexed her fingers, grinning when Naruto scowled as he rubbed the arm she'd just punched.

"What?!"

"No one is interested in your lame jokes."

"It's not a joke!"

Sai and Hinata shared a look and sweatdropped when the two blondes started arguing.

* * *

X-X-X-X-X-X-X

* * *

By the time Sakura neared the front only three bowls of salad were remaining. She let out a sigh of relief when she noted that only one person was ahead of her as the third plate was taken.

She made a mental note to head to the Admin office after she had lunch for her locker assignment. Carrying her books around was not fun, she thought grimly as she adjusted the strap on her bag. She absently scanned the cafeteria in advance for a place to sit, frowning slightly when she noticed Ino and Naruto bickering. Sai and Hinata sat on either side, and next to Sai was…an empty seat, the last one at their table. Great!

Straightening from leaning all her weight on one leg, Sakura perked up when the person that had just been served left. It was a good thing a whole two hours was set aside for lunch. The serving was at least snail paced at its fastest. Just as she was reaching for a tray, Sakura caught movement out of the corner of her eye.

"Over here Sa-kun! Over here!" the girl ahead of her yelled, waving an arm.

Now that her salad was in reach, Sakura could really care less about some girl saving her boyfriend a space in li-

"Guess what?! There's only two bowls of _**Shiratama Anmitsu**_ left!"

Sakura's eye twitched as the last bowl got snatched up just as she was reaching for it.

Oh hell no.

Her fingers twitched, arm still stretched out.

Oh **_HELL_** no.

"Excuse me," she said stiffly, not too gently poking the girl in the shoulder, "that's my salad."

She turned around, and Sakura met with the strangest red eyes she'd ever seen. So momentarily stunned by the other's appearance, Sakura forgot what she'd been saying before. "What's with your hair?" she asked, peering at it. "And who wears red contacts?"

"A.) No one disturbs me when I'm talking to Sa-kun. B.) what **about** my hair? And C.) These aren't contacts, genius."

"It's like…is it spiky or straight?" Sakura mumbled as she tilted her head to the side, ignoring the venom in the other's voice. "Just pick one."

"Wha… you know you have some nerve criticizing my hair…Pinky."

Sakura probably would have shot back some snarky come back had 'Sa-kun' not walked up that moment.

"I told you not to call me that, Karin. And you know I hate that kind of salad."

Said Karin pouted at the the other, Sakura completely forgotten. "Aw come on Sasu-kun, they were all out of tomato salad. Be nicer, it's my birthday today, you know." She whined.

"Whatever. That doesn't mean I'm going to eat sweets."

"But..but..but.."

"Someone's butt is going to get kicked if I don't get my salad," Sakura growled.

Sasuke peered over Karin, as if only noticing that Sakura was there. "What's her problem?"

"I think she's insane." Karin answered, turning to glare at Sakura.

"That's MY line," Sakura snapped, returning Karin's heated glare. "My salad. Hand it over."

"I don't see your name on it." Karin shot back.

A majority of the cafeteria had stopped eating and was now watching the proceedings with blatant interest.

"Okay. A.)," Sakura began, mocking Karin's voice, "you can't cut into the line. Everyone has to wait in line for their lunch, so does he, B.) THAT salad would have been mine had he not cut. And C.) _I don't like you._"

"Wait a minute, you're that little freak that got sent to the principal's office for hitting Sasu-kun yesterday, aren't you?" Karin's eyes narrowed. "Do you even know _who _he is?"

"Yeah." Sakura paused to aim a disinterested, disdainful look at Sasuke. "A jerk. So?"

"He's Sasuke Uchiha. Sasu-kun A.K.A my boyfriend-"

"I'm not your boyfriend."

"- A.K.A the hottest thing on the planet!" Karin finished, ignoring the monotonous objection.

_Is she for real? _Sakura stared at the girl fuming in front of her with her fists on her hips, anger replaced by befuddlement. "Actually, the hottest thing on the planet would be volcanoes." She stated. "Look genius, I just want my salad-"

"Oh, I'll give you your salad!"

Sakura ducked instinctively when Karin chucked a bowl at her. The kid behind her unfortunately wasn't as quick and got a faceful of salad and fruit bits. Sakura knew she was being petty even as she grabbed the jelly off the kid's tray, but no one wasted a good bowl of fruit salad.

NO ONE.

Unfortunately, Karin could duck just as well as Sakura.

The sound of a gooey splat echoed in the silent cafeteria. There was one unified gasp and then a thick silence hung. When Sasuke hands came up to wipe the green goo from his face, Sakura couldn't help the snort that escaped her.

"GYAAAAAAAAAH! ARE YOU OKAY, SA-KUN?!"

Sakura rolled her eyes at Karin's outburst. "Oh come on, it's just jelly. Probably didn't even hurt. In all fairness, it was meant for you, but I guess he also deserved it for cutting-"

"You will **_pay_ **for this!" Karin cut in angrily, her voice so vehement Sakura actually took a step back, more from surprise than anything.

Sakura watched as Karin grabbed Sasuke's arm and started dragging him away, presumably to clean him up somewhere, ignoring the raven's objections. When the duo had exited the cafeteria, Sakura shrugged and plucked the last bowl of salad from Karin's abandoned tray. Ignoring the heavy silence that made her every step echo, and the hundreds of eyes on her, Sakura made her way to her friends' table and sank into the chair next to Sai.

"You know," she started, ignoring their slack jawed expressions, "if every day here is going to be like _**that**_, I'm starting to think maybe I should have stayed in Tokyo after all," she said as she dug a spoon into the salad and shoveled some into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. "Oh man, I forgot to get a lemonade." She whined when she swallowed.

"Er, here," Sai offered, pushing his bottle over, "I haven't opened it yet."

"Thanks," she said as she opened it and then gratefully took a sip.

Eventually, everyone got over their bewilderment and more or less returned to their lunches. But throughout, Sakura was aware of the looks being shot at their table, even though none of her friends mentioned it, completely brushing the whole thing off and acting like it didn't just happen, with Ino and Naruto continuing their argument, Hinata unsuccessfully trying to get them to stop before just giving up and going back to munching on her cinnamon rolls.

She smiled faintly when Ino shot her a wink while Naruto was distractedly chatting with Hinata. Seeing the exchange, Sai hid his smirk behind his folded palms.

* * *

X-x-X-x-X-x-X

* * *

"So does this school have no janitors?" Sakura snarked as she entered the combination for her new locker. Her new and _very_ dirty locker. "This thing is kind of filthy."

"We have one." Hinata smiled apologetically. "I suppose the school could use more janitors."

"You get right on that…Kaichou." Naruto teased.

"You're student council president, Hinata?" Sakura asked as she put her books in the locker, against her better judgment.

Hinata floundered. "Not really…er well, not ye-"

"It hasn't been made official yet," Naruto cut in, throwing an arm around her shoulders, "but hey, Hinata was vice-president the past two years, she's a shoo-in!"

"Hm," Sakura grunted, distractedly dabbing at the locker's inside with a kerchief.

"Naruto, get off my locker."

Sakura's ears perked at the monotonous, almost bored voice. She peeked out just in time to see Naruto throw an arm around a redhead's shoulders. He didn't look too happy about it.

"Gaara! Dude, missed ya during vacation, where'd you go?…hey wait, what's with the bag? Did you _just_ get here?"

"Yeah, I just arrived. I went camping…in the desert." he replied blandly, shrugging Naruto's arm off to open his locker.

"Woah! Cooool!" Naruto shouted, earning a few irritated glares from passing students. "So, you went alone? Did you see a coyote or a werewolf…or like a witch or something?" he asked as he linked his arms together behind his head.

"I went with my…family." Gaara answered as he put his books in the locker. After snapping his locker shut, he turned to look at Naruto quizzically. "Did you by any chance take a job at a Research Centre during the vacation? Like a test subject for experimentation maybe?"

"Wow. Talk about being blunt." Sakura remarked dryly.

"And you are?"

Laughing, Naruto walked over and threw an arm around Sakura's shoulders – which was promptly thrown off – as he gestured to her. "Oh this is Sakura, she's my neighbor, she moved down here a few days ago to live with her older sister, you know her, Maya-san? That really cool nurse that got the sand out of your ears that one time? Yeah her! Anyway, Sakura's new here and – OW! What was that for?!"

Sakura glared at the blonde hopping up and down while cradling the foot she'd just stomped on. "You can't just go around giving out people's information without their permission like that Naruto." she admonished.

Naruto was about to respond, but Gaara spoke first. "She is right. The police are suspecting that a serial killer is in the area. It most definitely isn't safe to give out people's addresses like that."

"How do_ you_ know that?" Sakura asked suspiciously.

"I saw it on the crime and investigation channel."

"Isn't that the channel with all the bloody murder shows?" Naruto asked, puzzled.

"It is." Sakura interjected.

"It happens to be my favorite channel…actually it's the only channel I watch." Gaara paused, his face turning thoughtful, "My favorite show is Forensic Detectives. Last night, I heard they were investigating a poisoning; they had to cut the victim open to retrieve a sample of the poison of course, so –"

"Uh…look at the time," Hinata interrupted, not wanting to hear any more details, "we are going to be late for class if we don't hurry." She added with a nervous laugh.

"Hyuuga, I didn't see you there."

"Yes, well…um… How are you, Gaara?"

Gaara shrugged.

"Not that this isn't very entertaining and stimulating conversation or anything, but we're going to be late for chemistry," Sakura said as she and Hinata started walking.

Gaara sighed as he followed. "I was hoping to get away from Naruto, but unfortunately, I have chemistry next too."

"That's AWESOME!" Naruto cheered as he ran up to walk between Sakura and Gaara. "We can all go together!" He threw an arm around Gaara and Sakura's shoulders.

"Why is it awesome?" Sakura asked, just as she and Gaara both threw Naruto's arm off.

"Why do you guys keep doing that?" Naruto asked with a hurt look, "It's not like I smell or anything."

"You don't smell Naruto, it's just that no one likes to be leant on and weighed down, especially in the middle of classes. Or if they've had a day like mine."

"Ohhhhh." Naruto nodded once. "Anyway, its awesome cause Gaara takes a bunch of AP classes, so we rarely have class together. I think besides Chem, I only have English Lit with him. Wait, hey Gaara, are you taking Art this year too?"

"Yes."

"Sakura, you're taking Art too, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"You should pair with Gaara for projects, you'll get an A for sure. His sand sculptures always, always get an A+."

"You said always twice." Sakura commented absently.

"I was repeating for emphasis!"

"Whatever." Sakura waved a hand. "Er, do you have something for sand, Gaara?"

Gaara glanced at Sakura from the corner of his eye. "Why do you ask?"

"Well…in the 8 minutes I've known you, the word sand and your name have appeared in the same sentence about three times, I think."

Gaara stopped at the door to the Chem lab. "Well…I like sand." He said, blinking slowly.

Sakura gave him an odd look. "Huh…that has to be the oddest thing I've heard today."

* * *

X-X-X-X-X-X-X

* * *

"For today's lab experiment, I want you all to pair up with your lab partners. You shall have the same lab partners you had last year."

"Anosan, Anosan, Kurenai-sensei, Sasuke isn't here yet so I don't have a partner!" Naruto shouted, waving his arms.

Kurenai sighed exasperatedly. "Naruto, how many times do I have to tell you about the dangers of waving your arms like that in the lab? Do I need to remind you all about –"

"NO!"

Sakura frowned. That had been the entire class.

"There once was an accident involving Naruto's waving arms and sodium hydroxide." Hinata whispered in explanation. "It wasn't pretty."

Sakura grimaced in response.

"Okay Naruto, you can be with Hinata, since Kiba isn't here either."

"ALRIGHT!"

"NARUTO! WHAT DID I JUST SAY?!"

"Sorry, sensei."

The class laughed.

"Where IS Kiba?" Sakura whisper-asked, suddenly remembering that she hadn't seen him since English. "And where are Sai and Ino?"

"Kiba is probably trying to sneak into the freshmen girls' locker room again," Hinata whispered back as she gathered her books to join Naruto, "and I think Ino and Sai got held up in the gymnasium. They should be here soon though."

As if on cue the blonde and raven walked in, Ino shooting a quick apology at Kurenai as the pair made their way to an empty station.

"Um, sensei, what about me?" Sakura asked, raising a hand when she realized she didn't have a partner.

Blinking, Kurenai picked up her seating chart. "Oh that's right, Miss…Haruno, right?"

After Sakura nodded, she glanced back down at her seating chart and frowned. "The only other person without a lab partner is Gaara, so I guess he's going to be yours from now on." Snapping the binder shut, Kurenai picked up a textbook. "Okay, we are doing lab 13 today, so remember to wear your gloves and goggles at all times." She warned as the students scurried around to join their partners.

"It's okay if you would rather do this alone," Gaara said when Sakura came to stand next to him at the back of the class.

"I should be saying that to you," she replied. "I'm not exactly a graceful gazelle when handling things, I didn't have a lab partner at my previous school because of that."

"I see… maybe they partnered us in the hopes of us eliminating each other and removing the threat to the other students."

Awkward silence.

"I was joking."

"Right…I knew that."

"But I still think sensei made us partners on purpose." Gaara continued as they set up the apparatus.

"Why do you say that?"

"Obviously we pose a threat to the other students."

"Huh?"

"How do you think I lost my eyebrows?"

Sakura paused, tapping a spatula on the counter. "Um…"

"Accident with a Bunsen burner and flammable gas in a faulty gas jar." He answered, glaring at said apparatus.

"Ohhh…. I just thought… maybe you like…shaved them off or something."

He gave her an odd look, as though she had just suggested he liked to run around nude for fun. "Why would I -or anyone- shave their eyebrows off?"

Sakura shrugged.

"Ah, nice of you to join us, Mr. Uchiha."

Sakura saw Sasuke talking to Kurenai out of the corner of her eye, noting with satisfaction that he had changed his shirt. Turning back to Gaara, she tried to swallow her snickers, lest she be called out on it.

"Hey!" she hissed as she grabbed the jar of chlorine he had been emptying into a beaker. "What are you doing?"

"Following the directions in the textbook," he answered, clearly bored. "Wasn't that obvious?"

"You're supposed to _measure _it first," she admonished, and then sighed when she looked at the jar. It was almost empty. Sighing again, she picked up the beaker he had poured into. "I'm going to take these back and get us another jar of chlorine."

She turned and started towards Kurenai's table at the front of the class, cradling the jars in her arms. A small voice in the back of her head, probably her common sense, told her carrying them this way wasn't a good idea. Turning her head to call back to Gaara, she ignored it.

"Read those instructions properly before I get back," she warned, narrowing her eyes at him over her shoulder, still not paying attention to where she was going.

"Uh.." Gaara started.

"What?"

SPLASH.

"I was going to say watch out, but well…never mind." Gaara answered blandly, his attention returning to the textbook before him.

_Oops. _

Sakura was about to apologize. She was going to apologize, really she was. That had been an accident. She hadn't meant to spill the chlorine on him. Really, she hadn't.

"You have got to be kidding me."

The chlorine made a blue map as it spread across the white shirt. Sakura stared blankly as Sasuke examined his drenched shirt.

"I am sorry. It was an accident," she recited robotically, as she raised her eyes to meet his. His obsidian ones were flashing with irritation, and she flashed an 'innocent' smile.

"You again? Why am I not surprised?"

Sakura scowled at the disdain. "It's too bad you aren't wearing the same shirt, y'know, the chlorine would have gotten the stain out, I'm sure." She snapped, and then smirked when she heard a few snickers.

"Quiet!" Kurenai snapped as she walked around her desk to stand next to Sakura and Sasuke. "Now if you two are done, I suggest Uchiha here goes and cleans himself up, while you return to…" she paused eyeing the empty beakers Sakura was still holding. "Did Gaara pour all of the chlorine…again?"

Sighing in exasperation, she beckoned Sakura to the apparatus table while she waved Sasuke away.

The intercom crackled a few minutes after Sasuke left, just as Sakura got the new jar of chlorine.

"**Sakura Haruno to the principal's office."**

_Bastard._

* * *

X-x-X-x-X-x-X


	8. Plan C

**Time 4 some drama, Yo. Sorry about the delay in update…wasn't really motivated much.**

* * *

**X**

* * *

**This chapter is for **_Midnight Angel Sakura_** and **_animelover_**!**

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. It's the sole property of Masashi Kishimoto._

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**x**

* * *

_You tried to say things you can't undo, if I had my way, I'd never get over you- __**Fall To Pieces**_** - Avril Lavigne (I bet I can find an Avril quote for every chapter!)**

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**X-x-X-x-X-x-X**

* * *

TWO WEEKS after the chemistry lab and cafeteria incidents, on the afternoon of Tuesday, June 26th, Maya and Itachi found themselves in Konoha High's principal's office…again.

"I'm sorry I have to keep calling you two away from your jobs like this," Hiruzen said gravely, "but I'm afraid I have no other choice."

"It's alright, Hiruzen-san," Itachi assured. "We understand."

"Really, we should be the ones apologizing," Maya added. "It's _**our**_ siblings that are disrupting your school after all."

"Yes, that is true," the elderly principal conceded, and the two young adults sighed. "But still, in your professions, keeping you two here could cost someone, somewhere, their life." He gestured at their uniforms.

"That's…also true, I guess." Maya sweatdropped as she wiped absently at the white nurse's garb she was wearing.

Hiruzen sighed. "The reason I've called you two here today is-"

"Sakura lost it and spilt something on Sasuke and they disrupted class -again- right?" Maya asked, cutting to the chase. She let out an exasperated huff when the principal nodded. "Seriously, what am I going to do about that girl?" she asked no one in particular, sounding drained.

"No, no, wait," Itachi raised a palm. "Did Sasuke provoke her in some way?"

"Well, we received a complaint from their social studies teacher yesterday about another 'heated debate' during class."

"I thought so," Itachi nodded.

"Normally, something like this wouldn't be so much of a problem…except its affecting the other students' learning process. Disruptions during class, laboratory mishaps, 'debates' during class discussions, cafeteria food fights…" he paused to sigh. "We have tried everything, from detention to mandatory after-school sports to keep them occupied…but nothing seems to work. The sports' coaches asked for them to be removed from the teams barely a day after they were signed up. And from the reports I have received from their teachers, their antagonism doesn't seem to have reduced since the start of the term."

The principal paused again, frowning sadly. "If this continues, I'm afraid I'll be forced to have them withdrawn from the school for the sake of the other students."

X-X-X-X-X-X-X

When they exited the office, Maya and Itachi sighed in exasperation and sweatdropped when they found Sasuke and Sakura still bickering in their seats.

"For the last time, it was an ACCIDENT." Sakura snapped. "You know, when something you didn't INTEND to let happen… happens!"

"How was _**that**_ an accident?! What, you just so happened to trip and the test tube just so happened to slip out of your grasp?" Sasuke snapped.

"I was wearing flats today, the tile in the lab is not exactly flat-friendly! And my gloves were slippery! So yeah… Not my fault!" Sakura shot back.

"That's why there are _**forceps**_ in the lab, _**genius**_."

Sakura let out an affronted gasp and then growled dangerously.

"Do you have something against my shirts?" Sasuke asked, eyebrow ticking, "because at this rate I won't have any left. And then I'll have to walk around shirtless."

"Oh, why not?! _**Please**_ do! I'm _**sure**_ your _**fans**_ would just _**love**_ that!" Sakura sneered. "Oh wait…that chlorine I spilt on you probably gave you a rash, didn't it?" she snickered. "Maybe you should let them see it…I'm sure they'll be disgusted enough to leave you alone, no?"

Itachi sighed and shook his head. "I think we need to stage an intervention," he whispered to Maya.

"That would be a good idea." Maya agreed.

* * *

**X-x-X-x-X-x-X**

* * *

_**EARLIER THAT DAY.**_

"Really, Haruno? Really?"

Ino's head shot up at the annoyed voice. _Not again_. She thought tiredly.

"I swear it was an accident this time, sensei!"

"That was no accident." Sasuke accused, holding his stained shirt away from his body so the wet material wouldn't stick. "It never _is_ just an accident."

"Well, I'm telling you it was!" Sakura snapped. "Gaara, you saw, right? Tell them!"

"Yeah, an accident." Gaara intoned. "It was definitely an accident."

"See?" Sakura sneered.

"Just go to the principal's office already, you two." Kurenai's exasperated voice instructed.

"But sensei-"

"Not in the mood, Haruno. _**Move it**_."

Ino frowned concernedly as she watched the pinkette shuffle out of the lab after removing her gloves and goggles. Sasuke followed shortly after her.

Hissing his name, Ino kicked Sai under the table to get his attention.

"A simple tap on the shoulder and an 'excuse me' would have sufficed if you wanted my attention, y'know," the raven sighed.

"Meeting… after class." she bit out urgently, discreetly texting Naruto and Hinata the same thing from her bag.

* * *

**X-x-X-x-X-x-X**

* * *

Sakura and Sasuke didn't return to class after being sent to the principal's office, and the time was ticking by too slowly for Ino's liking.

It had been little over three weeks since the school term had started, and it'd been just as long since Sakura had moved to Konoha. Ino had been observing her friend so far…and she was worried.

When she'd first come up with this plan to set the two –apparently very volatile– teenagers, up, she hadn't factored in the fact that the two would be really adamant to remain hostile towards each other. She had been banking on the fact that one of them would cave and apologize first–most likely Sakura– but no such luck. The pinkette seemed to genuinely hate the Uchiha's guts.

Ino knew she had to do something, pronto…but she also knew that she was missing something. There had to be a reason behind Sakura's bitterness and Sasuke's more-so-than-usual tool act.

But what?

It was time to switch tactics, the blonde decided. But that meant she'd have to-

The bell rang, the shrill sound startling the blonde out of her thoughts. When she looked around, students were already making their way out of the lab and all the apparatus had already been cleared away from all the workstations. Ino blinked, wondering just how much of the experiment she'd zoned out.

"Ino?" Sai tapped her shoulder.

Ino flinched, only then noticing that the lab was empty save for herself, Sai, Hinata and Naruto. She shook her head. Focus, she needed to focus if she was going to do this. She cleared her throat to get their attention.

"Guys. We're jumping straight to Plan C." she announced.

Sai's eyebrows shot up. "Are…are you sure?"

"Wait…what was Plan C, again?" Naruto asked, squinting.

Hinata sighed and shook her head. "I'll explain it to him, later." She told Ino.

"But Ino," Sai spoke up. "why the sudden decision to skip forward?"

"I may have misjudged how Sakura and Sasuke would handle Sakura's coming back here. Something isn't adding up." Ino frowned. "But I have a…hunch about something."

"Oh, okay then. _That_ clears everything up." Naruto muttered sarcastically.

"I need to talk to Sakura first," Ino continued, ignoring Naruto's frustrated jab. "Sai, do you think you can-"

"I got it." He cut in. "I came with my motorcycle today, so I think I can make it there and back before 5PM."

"Let's see…its almost half-past three, right now," Ino frowned. "That only gives you an hour and a half…how about we try not to crash, hm?"

Sai rolled his eyes and scoffed. "I've been driving it for two years, I'd imagine I know how to operate it."

"Just be careful." Ino insisted, not amused. "Traffic isn't exactly light this time of day."

"I know."

"Yeah…uh huh...if you guys are done," Naruto cut in, "…what are Hina-chan and I supposed to do?"

"Huh?" Ino blinked. "Oh…Oh yeah…you guys, uh, go on a date or something. I don't want you anywhere on school premises until exactly 5PM." she instructed.

"Bu-"

"Got it." Hinata interrupted, taking Naruto's arm. "We'll be back at 5, then. Let's go Naruto-kun."

"But, Hina-chaaa-"

"We're going to spend the next hour and a half at the mall. We can go to any store you want."

"…and have ramen after?" Naruto asked hopefully as they disappeared out the lab door.

"Er…sure."

"ALRIGHT!"

Ino rolled her eyes as the couple's voices grew fainter.

"Are you sure about this, Ino?" Sai asked again.

Ino nodded.

"You're going to tell her, then?" he pressed.

Ino laughed mirthlessly. "Well, since they both plan to be stupid blockheads…I don't really have a choice, do I?"

* * *

X-X-X-X-X-X-X

* * *

"Hey Forehead!"

Sakura looked up in time to see a blonde walking up the bleachers. "Oh. Hey Pig." She responded non-committedly.

"What's eating you?" Ino asked when she reached her, noting the unenthusiastic response. "The principal couldn't have been that harsh."

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Seriously though, I've been looking for you," Ino continued. "Why're you in here?" she asked, gesturing at the empty Gym she'd found Sakura in.

"I wanted to be alone." Sakura shrugged.

"Oh." Ino sighed, and then sat next to her.

"You know, you staying here kind of contradicts the whole 'being alone' thing." Sakura pointed out.

"Has your sister left?" Ino asked, ignoring the jab.

"Yeah." Sakura exhaled, resigning herself to the blonde's presence. "She left a while ago, I don't know exactly when. I was kinda…distracted."

"Oh, okay. And by distracted…you mean you and Sasuke were having another pointless argument." Ino elaborated.

Sakura sucked her teeth, irritation bubbling. "It wasn't pointless."

"Mhm." Ino murmured.

They were silent for a while. Ino busied herself with studying her nails, and picking at the non-existent dirt under them. _I need a_ _manicure_, she mused absently. As she was debating which nail salon she'd go to, Sakura spoke.

"Why are you still in school?" She asked. "I thought I heard the last bell a while ago."

Ino shrugged. "I need a ride home, so I'm waiting for Sai."

"What about your car?"

"I didn't drive today. It's at the garage, so Sai drove me here. Man, its hot today." Ino complained as she reached up to pile her hair into a messy ponytail. "I could have hitched a ride with Hinata and Naruto, I guess," she continued, "but they went off on a date somewhere, I think. And I have no idea where Kiba is."

Sakura snorted. "No one ever seems to know where that guy is."

"Yeah." Ino turned around in her seat to lean on the bleacher's side railing so she could face Sakura. "So… what _did_ the principal say?"

"Dunno." Sakura blew her bangs out of her face again. "I was too busy having another pointless argument to hear, remember?"

"Don't sass me, Forehead."

Sakura deflated. "He said…he was thinking about expelling us." She answered finally. "Except it was more sugar-coated."

"Can't says I blame him." Ino remarked. "You two have kinda turned his school upside down."

Sakura remained silent.

"Why do you keep fighting with Sasuke anyway?"

Sakura shrugged. "He's annoying. But that wasn't the first time he blamed me for something so I can't say I was surprised."

"Oh, you mean he blamed you for that time in P.E too?" Ino asked curiously.

Sakura bristled and blinked. "Er...sure."

Ino filed the odd reaction away in her head. "That's it?" she asked when Sakura said nothing more.

"Yeah." Sakura deadpanned. "That's it."

"Bull." Ino scoffed. "I may be blonde but I'm not stupid, Sakura."

"Let's just drop it, Ino."

"No. How 'bout we not drop it and you tell me what's eating at you instead of you sitting all Emo-like in an empty gym." Ino suggested cheerfully.

"I'm not Emo." Sakura snapped, unamused.

"Then stop acting like you are!" Ino snapped, and then winced at how harsh her voice came out. She took a breath to calm herself and tried again. "Look…" she started, lowering her voice. "I just want to help."

"I don't need help." Sakura frowned. "So knock it off and leave me alone already."

"Sakura-"

"What do you _**really** _want, Ino?" Sakura snapped, patience having run out. "Last time I checked you're never this persistent about anything that doesn't involve shopping, or something pink or some other shallow crap."

Ino didn't respond, focusing her gaze on the toes sticking out of her peep-toe shoes. Sakura smacked her forehead with her palm when she realized what she'd said. "I…I'm sorry." She sighed. "I didn't mean that. It's just…I mean, _I'm_ just really frustrated right now."

Ino shook her head. "No…it's okay." She finally said after a lengthy pause. "You're not wrong. I mean…I used to be like that, didn't I?"

"Mhm. Not anymore, though." Sakura forced a small smile.

"That's good, right?"

"Definitely." Sakura nodded. "I guess we have Sai to thank for that, huh?"

"_**Sai**_?" Ino repeated, blinking owlishly. "What does he have to do with- Wait! Don't try to turn this on me! We're talking about you!"

Sakura groaned and buried her head in her arms. "But I don't wanna talk about me."

"Stop being a baby." Ino chided. "You can tell me." She added in a softer tone.

Sakura exhaled, and then pushed her hair out of her face to glare up at the other. Ino only smiled encouragingly. "Go on." she urged.

Sakura decided to just give in and give up. "It's my sister." She began. "I know she's worried about me cause of all this and... some other stuff."

"Does it have anything to do with your…mom?" Ino asked tentatively.

Sakura froze. "No."

"I'm sorry if you…still don't want to talk about her," the blonde whispered. "But if it helps, I…I-I know what it's like. It's been just me and my Dad for years now. I still miss her and I know he misses her too…but it's okay cause we have each other."

Sakura drew her legs up and wrapped her arms around them.

"You know…it helps to talk about it," Ino offered. "You don't have to tell me everything…just, you've never talked to anyone about it, Sakura. You have to let it out sometime."

"Geez." Sakura exhaled and leant her chin on her knees. "You sound like my therapist or something."

"Yes well, you have 60 minutes of Dr Yamanaka's time…let's not waste it, shall we?"

Sakura scoffed and rolled her eyes. "You're ridiculous, you know that?"

"I know, one of my most endearing qualities I've been told." Ino grinned. "So…spill." she added seriously.

Sakura blew on her bangs again in frustration.

"I don't want to worry Maya. I know it's not fair on her, what with all the responsibilities she has and all, I know that my rebellious teen stint lately is not exactly helping with all that pressure," Sakura exhaled, and then launched into a rant. "And I feel bad about that, and I know she would have called my dad by now too, if she wasn't so worried about worrying him too, but I can't help it! Sasuke just pisses me off so damn much sometim-"

Sakura abruptly stopped talking when she heard Ino gasp.

"What?" she asked when the blonde continued to gape at her. "Ino! What?!"

Ino clamped her mouth shut. "Oh…Oh it's nothing…just…"

"Just…_what_?" Sakura pressed.

"You just referred to Sasuke as 'Sasuke' just now," Ino chuckled.

"Well…That's his name, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I know that," Ino laughed at the face Sakura was making. "It's just that usually it's something weird like what's-his-face, or STFU or Voldemort…ha, that one was funn-"

"How do you know about all that?" Sakura cut in suspiciously, "did you read my journal? Damn it, Ino, I am going to ki-"

"Whoa, relax! I didn't read it!" Ino cut in, alarmed. "Jeez, even I have limits when it comes to prying!"

"Then…how?"

"You kind of speak out loud as you write sometimes, so I have overhead you mumbling a couple times," Ino shrugged. "I didn't understand most of it, so your secrets are safe, I guess."

"I don't have any secrets." Sakura objected.

"Riiiight. Says the girl that's in denial and refuses to admit it." Ino drawled. "But anyway, your mom's not the only thing that I wanted to talk to you about," she added hastily when the pinkette glowered at her.

"It's... not?" Sakura asked cautiously, raising an eyebrow.

"No." Ino shook her head. "I won't force you to talk about your mom if you're not ready." She then smirked playfully. "I just want to know what the deal is with this Sasuke riot of yours."

Sakura frowned. "I already told you that it's nothing. That jerk is just annoying. He gets on my nerves and I end up losing it most of the time…not my fault he doesn't have manners."

"Yeah, because ruining shirt after shirt of his is way more polite, no?"

"Ah…" Sakura's cheeks coloured. "No…well…argh, I already told you he just pisses me off!"

"Why?"

Sakura shrugged. This conversation was getting to be irksome.

_Curse Ino and her prying ways. _

_Ugh, Did I just think that? I need to watch more TV and read less. _

_Kami. That sounds so ridiculous._

Sakura sighed at her own ridiculous train of thought.

_Wait, Ino is still talking._

"-so then the guys and I were talking and we-"

That caught her attention. "Wait, who's 'the guys and I'?"

Ino scowled. "Me, Hinata, Naruto and Sai."

Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"We couldn't find Kiba anywhere," Ino shrugged.

"That's not what I mea-"

"And Gaara…well, he was somewhere in the desert the whole vacation." Ino continued, misunderstanding. "That…and I don't really get him, y'know?" she shrugged. "Anyway, we're just concerned-"

"There's nothing to be concerned about." Sakura interjected bitterly.

"Yes, there is." Ino insisted. "I mean look at it from our point of view. First, we're all kids and running around causing chaos in Konoha and having fun together and you and Sasuke are the best of friends-"

Sakura started rubbing at her temple, feeling a headache coming on.

"-and then fast forward a couple years, you start spending less and less summers here, and you and Sasuke start acting all funky, and we figured maybe you guys had officially started dating or maybe you were about to and then something happened and you were in that are-we-friends-or-more phase or something-"

Sakura rolled her eyes as Ino continued babbling.

"-and then fast forward another year, Maya-san moves here and we expect to see you here longer and more often…but after that last summer you spent here just before you turned 14, you stopped coming here during summer or any other holiday altogether! And then after that Sasuke's mom…well, you know what happened….and then suddenly, neither of you wants to have anything to do with the other and Sasuke slowly morphed into the Ice prince and you started acting all…depressed and stuff."

Sakura squinted. Ino wasn't the best at explaining things sometimes.

"And then fast forward nearly three years later, and we're all more or less grown up, and you suddenly announce you're moving here and you're enrolling at our high school, and while I'm happy you're here and all, it's kinda odd that you'd move just for your last year in high school, but that's not the point." Ino added hurriedly.

Sakura ran a hand over her face. _Really? Really?_

"The point is we were all excited to have you back here after so long and we were kinda hoping it could be like before. But instead of being mature adults and resolving your issues, you and Sasuke have been squabbling like babies and throwing and breaking stuff all over the place. Poor Principal Sarutobi, you know one of these days, the poor man is going to have a heart attack and-"

"INO!"

The blonde blinked. "What?"

"Stop. Talking."

Ino scowled at the pinkette…and then looked plain offended. "We're supposed to be best friends…but you couldn't even tell _**me**_ what happened."

That caught Sakura by surprise. "Ino.."

"I mean…we used to tell each other everything, but after that summer…you just…changed." Ino sighed. "I wanted to help – we all did. But we didn't know how... I mean, how could we, when we didn't even know what was wrong?"

"There's nothing you guys could have done, Ino." Sakura frowned. "It's passed. Just let it go."

"No!" Ino snapped. "You just don't _**get**_ it, do you?"

Sakura flinched at the vehemence. "Get _**what**_?"

"We could understand that you were hurt or whatever, but we couldn't…we couldn't understand that you didn't _**want**_ us to help."

"Ino-"

"No. You. Listen." She demanded. "While I know that I shouldn't hold what you did against you, given that you probably had good reason for it, I can't just ignore it either!"

"What are you talking about?"

"When you and Sasuke decided to just up and shut everyone out of your lives did you pause to think about what that meant to everyone else?" Ino scowled, eyes blazing. "Did you think about how selfish and unfair you were both being? Or about what it meant for the rest of us…especially…what it meant to Naruto?"

Sakura stiffened.

"You and I both know that he wasn't exactly the most popular person around, but he went from being happy with the few friends he had one second, to wondering why he'd just suddenly been robbed of his two closest friends, the next. None of us saw it coming, and none of us knew what happened because you two didn't even bother to tell us."

Ino sighed heavily. "I guess I could understand not telling me or Hinata…but Naruto, Sakura? Really? I mean… You just left one night without warning and you never came back!"

"That's enough." Sakura scowled. "Cut it out, Ino."

Ino deflated. Maybe it was best if she didn't mention Naruto anymore. Sakura had always been overprotective of the blonde. She decided to get back to the point.

"I know something happened between you and Sasuke!" she accused.

Sakura scowled, not liking this subject much either. "Ino-"

"I refuse to drop it until you tell me!" Ino snapped. "I'm sorry but I'm not as forgiving or lenient as Naruto. I'm not willing to give up and let it all go just because you're 'back' again. I demand an explanation!"

"You can't just go around demanding that from people, Ino! Who do you think you are? What makes you think I'll just talk to you?!"

"Because you need to talk to someone, Sakura!" Ino snapped. "You won't be able to get past anything if you won't!"

"And what makes you think that talking about it will help me, huh?"

"Because I've been where you are before, Sakura!"

Noticing that they were yelling, which was counterproductive, Ino sighed and shrunk back. Sakura raised a brow at the sudden about-face.

"I think I can understand how you feel." Ino continued in a smaller voice.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked carefully, eyeing the blonde suspiciously.

"Shikamaru." Ino replied simply.

Sakura tilted her head to the side. Shikamaru? What did he have to do with this? Last time Ino had mentioned him, she'd said she'd dumped him before he left for college because she couldn't do long distance relationships…or something like that. Video chats with Ino were vague in Sakura's memory. But then...why was the blonde bringing the Nara up now?

"That same Shikamaru you dumped the other year?"

Ino nodded once.

"What about him?" Sakura pressed when the other girl remained silent.

"He…he was my Sasuke, you know."

Sakura blinked at that. "I don't understand."

"The truth is," Ino sighed. "…I didn't …I wasn't the one that dumped Shikamaru…he was the one that broke up with me."

Whatever it was Ino was going to say, Sakura hadn't been expecting that. She didn't know what to say. How did one even go about responding to something like that?

"What…happened?" she asked finally.

"I guess I should start from the beginning. Hmmm." Ino pursed her lips. Turning around so she was facing forward like Sakura, she then mirrored the other girl's position, drawing her legs up so she could wrap her arms around them and lean her chin on her knees.

"You know Gaara, right?"

Sakura knew Ino was stalling, but this seemed hard for the blonde to talk about, so she decided to play along. "I know of him, yes."

"Well…he has a sister. Her name is Temari. She was a Junior when were freshmen," Ino paused to squint at the ceiling. "Wait, this whole thing actually started at the beginning of sophomore year. I think, no wait…give me a sec…"

Sakura sighed and waited patiently for Ino to get her facts straight.

"Yeah, sophomore year," Ino nodded. "See, when we opened that year, Shikamaru, Shino, Chouji and a couple other people from our class got bumped up a couple grades. Shino, Chouji and of course, Shikamaru got bumped up to the Senior class...Temari's class."

Sakura wasn't surprised, remembering that the three boys had been considered bonafide geniuses.

"At the time Shikamaru and I had been dating for like over a year and a half, I think." Ino let a melancholic smile play at her lips. "If you told me back when we used to fight over Sasuke that I'd someday actually fall for that dumbass genius idiot, I'd probably have called you crazy…but I did, anyway."

Sakura remained silent, again unsure of what to say. She used to be able to read the blonde like a book, but now, she kept throwing her for a loop. Something about Ino had changed over the years, she'd noticed. Maybe this was why. She chose to remain silent until Ino finished her story, hoping to get her answers during, somehow.

"It was great, you know," Ino continued, "being in a relationship with someone who knows you inside out, knows exactly what to say when you need to hear it, and knows when to shut up when you're pissed off..." Ino trailed off and sighed. "Yep…it was…great."

"What…changed?" Sakura asked, dreading the answer.

"Well," Ino kicked off one shoe and stretched a leg out, "as the term went on, Shikamaru got dragged into participating in all these quizzes and academic inter-school contests, and I saw less and less of him. I could stand it for a while because I understood, I was on the cheerleading squad already even though I was a sophomore, so I knew the pressure of having the school counting on you."

Sakura sweatdropped. Only Ino would equate the pressure of being a cheerleader with that of being an academic athlete.

"I never really knew Temari that well. Like everyone else, I just knew her as the girl who quit cheerleading to join the Mathletes and the J.E.T.S club," Ino scoffed. "A so-called pretty girl being good at Math and Science was a huge deal back then apparently."

Sakura let out an exasperated sigh. "Uh, Ino, that was just, more or less, two years ago. Not the dark ages."

"Shh, don't interrupt!" Ino hissed. "So, as time went by, Temari and Shikamaru ended up teaming up a lot for contests-"

"Wait," Sakura cut in, assuming where she thought this story was headed, "don't tell me-"

"I told you not to interrupt, Sakura," Ino frowned. "Repeating this story a second time, while not as hard as the first, is still quite hard, okay?"

Sakura mimed zipping her mouth and throwing away the key, curiosity getting the better of her. Ino had sort of gotten a faraway look in her eye.

_**Sorry Ino, I won't be able to come to the cheer competition this Saturday.**_

_**Why not? Are you going somewhere again?**_

_**Yeah. There's a scholastic decathalon over in Hiroshima…I'm going.**_

…_**Oh.**_

_**I'll… make it up to you when I come back, okay?**_

…_**Okay.**_

"Ino…?" Sakura waved a hand in front of the glassy-eyed blonde's face.

Ino flinched. "Oh…right, where was I?" she blinked, scowling when she felt her eyes sting.

"Contests."

"Oh right!" Ino cleared her throat. "So, anyway, during the second term, Shikamaru and Temari were chosen to be a part of the team that would represent Konoha for the Inter-provincial Scholastic Decathalon. He was gone for two weeks and it sucked because I missed him. So much so, that I even planned out all this stuff we would do when he got back. But when he got back…" Ino trailed off.

"He... broke up with you." Sakura filled in the blanks helpfully.

"Mhm. It was kinda ironic actually." Ino face was grim and her blue eyes had dimmed, "The day I decided I'd tell him I loved him…was the day he told me he'd fallen in love with _her_."

_Wow. Ouch._ Sakura thought dryly. _That had to hurt._ She scowled at herself. _No shit, dumbass, of course it hurt!_

_Oh. I'm yelling at myself._

"Ino-"

"She was pretty _**and**_ smart." Ino continued, not wanting the other's pity. "I never stood a chance…and I was mad. Boy, was I mad. Mad at him, mad at her…but mostly I was mad at myself. Because I felt like maybe…if I was smarter or something…" Ino bit her lip, and shook her head. "I refused to talk to him again after that…and everything was ruined."

Sakura didn't blame her. If she were in her shoes, she'd probably have done the same thing. _That jerk! _She thought heatedly, clenching a fist._ That good for nothing piece of-_

"I was so stupid."

Sakura did a double-take at the whisper._ Wait…HUH?_

"I acted rashly." Ino shook her head. "And because of that I lost my best friend."

"But…but…but…"

"It's not like he cheated on me, Sakura." Ino pointed out. "Shikamaru told me first before he told her. She didn't know anything. So, I appreciate that he would choose to be honest with me rather than go behind my back. That meant a lot to me, after I thought it through."

"That's..." Sakura's jaw dropped. "But…what if he was lying?!"

"Shikamaru has never lied to my face before." Ino deadpanned. "Ever."

Sakura gaped at her blonde friend. "How can you be so sure?!"

"I just… _**am**_, okay." Ino replied firmly. "Anyway, the point is…by the time I realized all that and my anger had dissipated…I was too chicken to talk to him again. Day after day, I'd convince myself to just try to sort things out, and day after day I'd chicken out. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. Before I knew it, Shikamaru went off to University and Junior year had begun."

Sakura swallowed. That sounded familiar.

"I heard from Naruto who heard from Gaara who heard from Temari that she and Shikamaru had started going out…that was over a year after he broke up with me…I wasn't surprised. It hurt, sure…but I was expecting it, so in a way, I guess I was prepared. Needing a distraction, I threw myself into my own grades and my squad, and before long I had an average of an A in most of my classes and I was named squad captain after the former one graduated. Made history as the first Junior to ever be chosen as a squad captain." She finished proudly.

Sakura swallowed again, but a lump seemed to have settled in her throat. Ino seemed fine now, which didn't surprise her, Ino had always been strong like that…But… There had been a time when Ino hadn't talked to her for a while. But at the time she hadn't thought much about it. She'd just been happy to have been left alone for once with no 'annoying' video chats from the blonde.

_Selfish_. Sakura scowled.

Ino was right. Where was she when her best friend needed her? What was she doing when Naruto was…

"I'm sorry, Ino." Sakura said sincerely. "Really, I-"

"It's all good." The blonde shrugged. "I'm more or less fine now. I wasn't alone for long. Sai showed up a couple months into Junior year. And I had Naruto, Hinata and Kiba to distract/annoy me. And now, you're back too. So, as soon as you and Sasuke get back to normal, everything will be A-Okay."

Sakura looked down at her graffiti-covered flats. "But I…"

"C'mon. You always were smarter than me, Forehead." Ino bumped Sakura's shoulder with her own. "Don't make the same mistake I did. I mean…there's still hope for you and Sasuke…right?"

Sakura's expression hardened. "No."

"I'm calling you bluff." Ino scoffed. "I know way, way, way, way, waaaay deep down, under all that ice and sass… you two have still got the hots for each other."

Sakura glared at the blonde in warning.

"Okay fine. Maybe…how about you still consider him your best friend?" Ino surrendered, holding up her arms. "Baby steps."

"Forget it, Ino." Sakura snapped. "Shikamaru and Sasuke are two very different people. So are you and I."

"Sakura, just think about i-"

"No, Ino." Sakura cut in firmly.

Ino sighed in defeat. Well…that didn't work…but she'd been so sure that-

"Not…just, not now." Sakura whispered, so low Ino had to strain to hear it. "I…can't."

And that was it.

_**I knew it,**_ Ino thought triumphantly. _**Sakura, Sakura. You haven't changed one bit...no matter how much you try to convince everyone otherwise.**_

It took a lot, but Ino managed not to grin in her triumph.

* * *

**X-x-X-x-X-x-X**

* * *

"Wazzup, Sai!"

Sai cringed, only partially thankful that his pencil hadn't hit the canvas when Ino barged into the class without pre-amble. He was pretty sure the resulting pencil stroke would have ruined the drawing he'd just barely started.

"Ino." He greeted.

"Das me!" she grinned. "Watchu doin' in here?"

"You know why I'm in here." Sai carefully set his pencils down, so as not to chip their perfectly sharpened points, before turning to look at her. "Why are you being odd?" he asked. "I told you I'd be drawing when I came back…remember?"

"Odd?" she repeated. "Moi acting odd? No way."

He continued to look at her expectantly.

"Party pooper." She pouted, sinking into the nearest chair.

"Did you talk to Sakura?" he asked, his attention returning to the canvas in front of him.

"Yeah." She leant back in the chair, the front legs dangling in the air. "Yeah, I did."

"I see." Sai lifted his head, and then frowned. "Don't do that. It's dangerous, you know. You could fall over." He warned.

"Hello, cheerleader?" Ino pointed at herself. "I'm all about balance." She grinned.

Sai shook his head, "Why do I even bother?"

"Because you lurrrrrv meeeeh!" She teased as she leant forward to steady the chair again.

Sai cringed again, only thankful he hadn't raised his pencil yet again. Damn it. Today just wasn't his day. Ino hopped up from her seat, oblivious as usual, and walked around him to peer at his work.

"Wow." she whistled. "Is this for an assignment?"

"Yeah. The one that's due at the end of the term."

"What?" Ino laughed. "That's like what…Two and a half months away?"

"Mhm." Sai nodded. "I'm not sure it will be done in time."

"Wha…that's not what I meant." She giggled. "Never mind. It looks good so far, anyway."

"Thanks."

"You're most welcome." Ino replied with an exaggerated English accent, and then patted his head.

"Stop that." Sai complained. He grabbed her arm when she grinned as she continued to pat his head.

"Stiffy." She pouted at him. "Seriously, you're no fun."

"Fun?" Sai rolled his eyes and slowly lowered her arm. "I don't think I've ever considered myself…fun."

He slowly let her arm slide out of his grasp. He'd held it too long. Ino was studying his drawing again, and so didn't notice anything odd.

"Hey Sai?" she mumbled absently. "Am I doing the right thing? I mean…I'm doing the right thing…right?"

Sai shrugged. "You're asking the wrong person."

"Right." she chuckled lightly, and then turned to face him. "Well, you're up. She's in the gym, and Naruto and Hinata should be back soon."

Sai hesitated for a moment and then brushed past her, only pausing to squeeze her shoulder. "Just so you know…I think you're a good friend."

He was gone before she could respond.

Ino studied Sai's unfinished drawing a while longer.

"Right. A good friend…huh?" she repeated in a whisper. "Then why does it feel like…I've overlooked something very important?"

* * *

X-X-X-X_X_X-X

* * *

**That, dear Ino… Is the million dollar question. Gotta say, I enjoy writing the blonde in this. **

**The explanation for what actually went down 'tween Sasu-chan and Saku-chan will come soon enough. Shit gotta hit the fan first.**


End file.
